Lines Crossed
by tranquil.stars
Summary: [ sequel to loserville ] There's no doubt that Selena and Demi love each other; but now it's a question of how much. Now there are forgotten promises and pseudo-rivals, so with reputation, friendships, and high school angst on the table, will the two former enemies even live to be girlfriends? [HS AU]
1. One

**HELLO! welcome to the SEQUEL of Loserville! i probably would've done this even if yall didn't ask, but I went out for a while and woah people actually read it! oh boy let's go**

 **oh yes, and this is the sequel so if you want to understand I'd read the first one first :^)**

 **also; _ill be updating every_ _Tuesday_! why? well, every tuesday I get out of school early so I have time to post and proofread a bit before I send. secondly, I just love tuesdays :^) lets get into it now!**

* * *

"School time, it's school time," Selena sung lightly, booping the girl's nose, who was curled up on the bed with the comforter swarmed around her.

"Shut up time, it's shut up time," Demi scoffed, yanking the top of the blanket over her head.

"I'm hurt." the girl whimpered, crossing her arms roughly. She raised her eyebrows in expectancy, and Demi could _feel_ them pecking at her. Angrily, she rushed the blanket to the side and allowed Selena to yank her by her elbow so that she stood up.

The two still lived in the same apartment building, second story with the same shaggy carpet and gray walls.

"Come on. I have to work tonight, so you're not gonna see me after school. Do you really want to waste your precious time sleeping?" Selena questioned, pinching the girl's nose.

"Fine." the girl sighed, bringing an arm above her head while her other one jerked to the side, a loud grunt escaping her mouth. "I'm up."

Selena smiled and pressed a kiss against the girl's lips, giving her a nice wake-up. Demi let go of her petty morning angst and kissed back, weaving a hand through the girl's hair. Unfortunately, Selena pulled back a bit too quickly for Demi's liking and smiled.

"You only have one hour to get ready cause you slept in, do you think you can handle it?" Selena jeered, her hands on her hips and her tongue out.

"Haha, very funny," Demi rushed a few fingers through her hair, "I can do it if you help me."

Selena snorted, poking her cheeks sweetly, "Make me."

"Oh, _bitch_ ," Demi cupped the girl's cheeks with her hands, shaking Selena's face in between her hands. "Don't make me tickle you."

"Rude…" Selena crossed her arms, upset still that Demi knew exactly where she was ticklish. Instinctively, the girl pushed a strand of her hair over her ear. Demi tucked it back, though, so that she could kiss Selena's ear.

Selena giggled in instinct, turning around so that Demi's lips met hers instead of her ear.

"Weirdo," Selena mocked, pushing herself closer to the girl with her waist.

"Oh, you love me." Demi swirled a strand of the girl's thick hair on her finger. "Now stop distracting me by being cute and let me get ready for school."

The previously mean girl just snorted and kissed her again, brushing their lips together one last time afterwards before turning and moving to the kitchen. Demi ruffled her own hair in the mirror, squelching at her messy hair and deep-plated eyes.

Meanwhile, Selena had moved to the kitchen, stirring her tea—Demi had convinced her to stop drinking coffee since it was bad for her—rubbing her eyes with her cold fingers. She stretched out with a muffled groan,

"Selly!" Demi whined from the bathroom, harrumphing out a few cries of discomfort.

"Yeah, babe?" Selena asked, making her way over the bathroom in concern. Demi had removed herself from the bathroom, her hair half-cured and only one eyelash dotted with mascara.

"Spider…" Demi pressed her forehead into the girl's neck, her arms wrapped around the girl's side.

"Every day, Demi," Selena pinched her cheeks goofily. "You gotta toughen up!"

Demi only dug herself further into the girl's shoulder, her grip tightening. She protested, "I am tough! I'm just not so good around bugs."

"I don't have time to go kill your spider. It's raining and we're gonna be late if we dont leave soon."

"My hair," Demi pouted, pointing to her half-curls and half straight hair. To combat this, Selena simply grabbed a brush from the countertop that she had used previously and softly brushed out her curls, despite Demi's protests.

"Okay, but I didn't put on any makeup." The now straight-haired girl put her hands on her hips, subconsciously shutting her eyelids as the brush traveled one last time through her hair.

Selena perked the girl's chin with her fingernails, smiling sweetly and pressing a kiss against her un-applied lips. The girl combed her fingers through Demi's hair, "Who cares? You have natural beauty."

"Hm, I am pretty beautiful aren't I?" Demi fluffed her hair with a smile, and Selena beamed back.

They had been working on her confidence for a while, and whenever Demi could compliment herself unconditionally, it made Selena's heart soar. The popular girl made it her goal to compliment her five times or more a day, and get her to compliment herself at least once. So far, everything has been running smoothly.

There was just once problem that they couldn't seem to deal with—school. They hadn't told anyone they were dating, the most people got from them was that they were friends; more or less. Jen and some of Selena's other friends had shunned her for such a thing, daring to call her a traitor to them. However, Taylor refused to leave her best friend and stuck around, despite her previous encounters.

The blonde had felt terrible about what she'd done, and Demi was able to forgive her after a few weeks of relentless apologizing. However, despite this, Taylor wasn't told of their relationship. Nobody—and that _means_ nobody—knew about the two.

Taylor even considered Demi as a second best friend, which couldn't have made Selena happier.

Selena had pulled open the doors of the school, before Demi pulled her back and gave her a sweet kiss. Selena sighed into the kiss, knowing that they'd have to wait a whole eight hours of school before they could even interact in such a way again. There were the occasional bathroom kisses, backed away into the biggest stall on the left. Unfortunately, it was hard enough to make it look like they weren't entering a bathroom together, and even harder to find a completely empty bathroom.

"Okay, time for hell," The bare-faced girl sighed, rubbing her eyes with distaste for where she currently was.

Selena nodded sadly, feeling glad that the two girls often entered through the west entrance to the school, where there are little people to notice their engagements. They trudged into school, their feet slugging on the ground like they were trapped in knee-deep sand.

The only praise they could have was that they had first period together, but even in the long run it wasn't enough. Luckily, Demi's hand was pulled tightly into Selena's, her released fingers brushing against her knuckles softly.

Before they got up the stairs, where many people would most likely be wandering through halls and administrators would be sitting near classrooms and checking for anything suspicious, Selena yanked on Demi's hand. There had been some sort of disappearance, which called for extra security, but the two didn't care much for it. Selena brought her hands up and down the girl's arms, bringing her into a short-lived kiss. Demi sighed into the kiss, rushing fingernails through Selena's hair.

They proceeded up the first stair step, despite the magnet-like pull they felt. Selena joked harmlessly, "And here comes seven to eight hours of platonic touches."

It was a joke, but Demi groaned hurtfully because she knew it was true.

* * *

Selena pulled her handheld mirror from the sidebar, sighing as she once again faced it blankly. It was the beginning of sixth period lunch, and Demi had fifth period lunch. Really sucked, however she had it with Taylor so it wasn't completely lonesome.

However, lonesome was about to turn into awkward—especially when Taylor waltzed closer to her locker and shrugged, "Hey, Selena, Whaddya' think of… gay people?

"Gay… People…?" Selena gulped down the sweet taste of tea from the morning

"You know what I mean," Taylor waved a hand dismissively, seeing eager to learn her answer.

"I don't… I think they're okay—why?" Selena's fists were shaking, her palms were dripping with sweat and it felt like she was suffocating in her loose crop-top. The knee-high socks with the tips curled down just a centimeter below her knees were even laced with droplets of sweat.

"I dunno," Taylor fiddled with her thumbs, "Was just wondering."

Selena was panicking; her mind was racing and her feet wanted to run themselves away. Was this about Demi? Had she figured out? Oh god, Taylor would be so mad! Taylor would feel sad that Selena hadn't told her, and only time would tell when she'd be forgiven for something like that.

"I-is this about D-Dems?" Selena shrunk, even though the blonde was confused heavily.

"What about her? I just—"

Selena placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, a long breath escaping her lips. Selena smiled brightly, patting her shoulder once or twice. "Oh! No worries, Tay. I'm gonna go to the library for lunch today; you can go to the cafeteria."

"Wait, but Selena—" Taylor began again, but Selena was too busy celebrating the fact that the blonde hadn't caught on.

"Oh man! I'm feeling good since gym," Selena had gotten Demi to participate in Gym now, "I might do some cardio later on."

"But, Selena—what about Demi? Ugh, nevermind, I need—"

Selena didn't answer, she hummed and blabbered on about how flexible she had gotten since summer, heading off to the library. Taylor followed her along the locker lines, until Taylor grabbed the girl's shoulder and stopped her, a determined look in her eyes.

"Stop! I need to tell you something!" Taylor halted her, which got the girl's attention quite quickly. Selena wasn't listening, however, she was eyeing the classrooms beyond the lockers. She beamed, knowing that Demi's classroom was somewhere in this hallway. Oh man, that means that she would come out of her class unsuspecting, and Selena could just attack her with… uh… platonic friendship, of course. She beamed, wondering if the bathrooms were empty, or if Demi had anything new to share about her day. Taylor was rumbling on, "I really didn't know," or something.

"I dunno! I just really… I think I like you," Taylor paused, and Selena's mind skittered to a halt, screeching tires and scratching records playing in her head. "As more than a friend."

Selena began to put up her hand to talk, but a gasp filled her ears and she zipped around, eager to break away from the conversation. Oh thank Jesus, Selena gasped in joy to herself, noticing her clean-faced girlfriend bouncing up to her. She waved to Taylor before slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"Hi Taylor," Demi greeted happily, luckily she hadn't heard Taylor's speech about feelings. The girl seemed to be in a good mood, and the other girl would hate to ruin it with unneeded relationship drama. "Selena, we're only doing review in my sixth period and I really don't wanna do it. Can we skip?"

"Once a month," Selena felt her happiness coming back just by being around Demi, booping her nose. "And I've already done it twice with you. You're pushing it."

"Selena…" Taylor interrupted, her eyes cold and hard. "Answer me."

The girl dropped her shoulders; she was hoping that she had gotten herself out of the conversation with Taylor. Unfortunately, Taylor had grabbed her arm and began to pull her off somewhere more private. The brunette gave her girlfriend a look that explained, I'll tell you later! And was dragged off.

Taylor had pulled her into the dip in a hallway, right by a stairwell that led to some weird place that nobody ever had to go to for class.

"Taylor, I'm sorry, but…" Selena shut her eyes when she spoke, "I'm not gay, or anything. I don't like you that way."

A little lie, sure, but it would probably feel worse for Taylor if Selena had said she was gay after all, but already had a girlfriend that Taylor had no clue about—or worse, that she was gay and simply didn't find Taylor date-able. Selena was only protecting her from more harm, in a way.

"Oh." Taylor brushed some hair from her now pale face, laughing nervously. "S-sorry, I guess…"

"It's okay!" The lying girl tried to help, "I don't think of you any different. I hope we can still be friends."

Selena knew she'd fucked up with that line, the girl had essentially friend-zoned her with that line, but maybe it was better than unintentionally leading her on. She could feel the blonde's heart cracking, but Selena turned away before she felt too bad. She needed to find Demi and explain what happened; just in case.

* * *

"Come on!" Demi was tugging at Selena's sleeves, eager to get back to the car just so they could at the least hug without being mocked.

"Dems," Selena dragged her feet against the curb as the girl pulled her away, "I need—"

"Come on, I'm gonna die if I have to pretend that I'm your platonic friend for longer than now!"

"Demi…!" Selena insisted, but the girl kept tugging like her life depended on it.

Selena's eyes contracted, and she snapped momentarily. The girl had whipped her hand down, breaking the girl's tight hold. Her throat had also let out a glorified, 'ugh!' and she swore she felt her pupils shrink in anger.

Demi flipped her body around in shock, eyes wide and bugged. Selena clasped her hand over her mouth, "Nonono! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I just got impatient."

Demi gulped down her previous words like a rejected text message, before straightening her back and breathing out, "No… worries. I was just worried you were mad at me."

"Well I am," Not the point, Selena. "I mean, I'm not really. I just need to tell you something."

"Okay, so pause, you're mad at me for wanting to spend time with you?" Demi interjected, getting Selena riled up again. What was with Demi today? Moreover, what was with herself? She seemed to be snapping easier. Maybe the whole Taylor thing had really messed with her brain.

"I'm mad at you because I need to talk to you and you keep interrupting!" Selena began, but started again after, "But still, I'm not mad and I—"

"Why can't we just talk when we get home? Why did you have to get so mad?" Demi interrogated, stepping forward.

Selena lifted up her hands to her chest, letting them fall as she yelled, "God! Why are you so annoying?"

Demi's eyes contracted, and for a minute Selena thought she would buckle to her knees and cry—but Selena had taught her better than that. Instead, she screamed: "I'm annoying? I'm annoying? You're the one that's so concerned about your reputation that you refuse to tell people about our relationship. And I'm so stupid that I go along with it, even though it hurts me every day to see mindless guys flirting with you, and you egging them on!"

"You really feel that way?" Selena's eyes soften, but Demi's eyes don't meet hers, instead, they travel to her own jean cuffs. "Baby."

"I'm sorry." Demi apologized with a sigh, grabbing her hands. "What did you want to say? I'm okay with listening."

Selena sighed, leaning her forehead into Demi's. The girl caressed her face softly, pressing a kiss into her lips. Demi stiffened, but Selena no longer cared about being in public. Although she didn't really want to be in public, she didn't want Demi to think that her reputation was more important. It wasn't; it couldn't be.

Selena broke the kiss, causing Demi's eyes to flutter open like sleeping beauty. "We can go home," Her hands intertwined with the girl's to say she was sorry.

"Compromise. Why don't you tell me on the ride there?"

* * *

 **thank u for reading! I'm going to try and make these chapters sorta longer than before, i tried to make them 1k+ words before, but I'm gonna go for 2-3k this time around. I know that's,, not a lot compared to some other stories but! i dunno i might make them longer.**

 **thanks for reading in any case!**


	2. Two

**hello, i really hate this chapter... uhhh it's just lots of dialogue and filler so i feel like it's super lame to read**

 **++++ this is a shoutout... bc RockLovert is really cool & they were a supported of my other story too! they just deserve a good round of applause**

 **it really cool to see that my story is being read in different languages and countries/continents across the world! it makes me a bit proud :^) thank you tons for the support though! it means a lot**

 **anyways, here you go... & sorry in advance for the angst**

 **also, Merry Christmas! [cuz that's when this'll be posted!]**

* * *

The car rattled on the road back to the house, and Selena was fiddling with her hands on the steering wheel. Demi _had_ been a bit irritable, it seemed, maybe instead of telling her, she would just take her home, make her some light tea—

"So, what did you wanna tell me?" The girl asked from the passenger's seat.

Shit. Out the window went that idea.

"So, when Taylor pulled me out of the hallway to talk to me," Demi nodded, eyes watching the girl's fingers tap nervously against the wheel.

"Well, she uh…" Demi encouraged her some more, but Selena's neck was sweating.

Demi took a drink of her water, eyebrows raised and waiting for her continuation.

"She said she liked me… as more than a friend."

Water. Water everywhere. She spat _everywhere_ , on the seats of her minivan to her favorite skirt; the rearview mirror, the dashboard, her own shoes… and Selena screeched in surprise, responsively. Her hand let go of the wheel mid-turn and it rotated oppositely, halting the turn and instead rearing the tires.

"Holy shit Selena!" Demi cried out, bracing two arms above her head reflexively.

Taylor was no longer in their minds, only the honking of surprised car horns behind them, screeching rubber tires struggling to avoid the curbed car.

"Why the _fuck_ did you spit everywhere?!"

"I was surprised!"

"That's not—that shouldn't be how surprised people act!" Selena insisted, ignoring the angry beeps from behind her still gas-guzzling car.

"Selena, _drive_! I'm sorry for spitting but I swear someone's gonna call the police if we sit here any longer!"

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." Selena tried to touch her steering wheel, but it was dotted with remains of water from Demi's spit-take.

"Don't act like you're so disgusted! You kiss me all the time!" Demi was offended just a bit; was it so horrible to touch the spit of your girlfriend? Half, _no_ , most was water!

"I don't touch the spit in your mouth though!" Selena protested, and Demi chewed on her lip angrily, still remembering the honking and swerving of unsuspecting vehicles as they noticed their car rooted off of the road.

"Fine." with that, Demi rolled over the girl's thighs and onto her lap, causing Selena to grunt in shock.

"What…"

"I'm not going to let you mess up traffic cause of some water."

" _It is spit! It's fucking spit and you know it!"_ Selena shouted, losing her temper. But God, was it hard, with the girl she loved on top of her, thighs swallowing hers and arched back just brushing against her breasts.

God dammit. Her abdomen was swelling with butterflies and her legs felt like they were fucking burning. And usually, even in her conscious, Selena tried to keep her thoughts purely PG, but she couldn't help it. The skin near her eyes tingled and shook, twitching over one of her eyes that she was sure had went blind from foggy haze. A pulsing, throbbing feeling rocked her entire body, making her nauseous but also uncomfortable. God _dammit_. Her period was already making her hormonal enough; and the fact that Demi really wanted to wait to do _specific things_ until the time was right… Selena didn't really know how _that_ would go anyways, but it was better than this, right?

Or did Selena secretly want this? Agh!

"Demi, sweetheart," Selena began, like she could pass out. "It's okay. I can do it…"

The car was already on the road, the wheels bouncing and Demi sometimes struggled to reach the gas or brakes. You know what that meant? That she would have to curl down onto Selena's leg, stretch her foot, dig her inner thighs into Selena's, until she could finally reach the thingy.

Selena was really starting to hate the car ride home. Demi grunted as she scurried down to hit the breaks, pressing her palm angrily against the steering wheel to anchor herself as she did so. Usually, at this point, Selena would've gotten up and moved to Demi's old seat—but she was utterly paralyzed. Her throat was raspy, dry, and shut tight.

"Dollface, pumpkin, sugar, _darling_ ," Selena pushed out all of her cute pet names that she had in her, the last one really hurt, "Please let me drive."

Not only was Selena concerned for other drivers' safeties, she was worried for her own sexual safety. God, another moment of Demi's thighs against her and she would've—you know what? Not a good idea to think about it when it's pretty much happening.

Demi snorted and agreed compliantly, slinking off of her girlfriend's lap.

 _Air! Sweet air!_ Selena thought to herself happily, though she now felt unwelcomingly cold. Ah, man.

The girl gripped the almost-dry steering wheel without hesitation, much rather having this than arousal on a wet, leather car seat below her. Even still, her brain was mad at Demi—why did she pull that stunt? To prove a point? Sure, Selena loved her girlfriend with all of her stupid little heart, but had a police car driven by at any point, Selena would probably get a ticket. Demi only had a learner's permit, and it was probably expired by now.

Selena slammed everything when they got home. She slammed the car door, she slammed her key-card into the slot, she slammed her feet on the floor and then slammed the door shut.

"What the hell's up?" Demi asked, in shock at her actions. What was with all the slamming?

Selena only glared at her, fists clenched, before turning around and facing her. Demi lifted her hands up in defense, letting the girl sizzle down just abit.

"Okay. Okay, fine. _Sorry_ ," it was sarcastic, but Demi continued, "Well… About Taylor—"

Selena stopped her with an angry brow, like steam was boiling out of her nostrils and spilling onto the floor below her. Demi stepped back defensively, holding her hands out once again in a protective stance.

"Okay. Jesus," Demi reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

" _You_!" She snapped before she knew what she was doing. Demi squinted long and hard against the girl's facial structure, and it wasn't long before Selena sighed once again.

"No, I'm sorry. Nothing's wrong with you, I—"

Demi paused her with one hand up and the other limply hanging by her side. The once-bullied girl whipped around in a quick action, and Selena could _feel_ that she was crying, or close to it. Oh boy. Even in her angriest moments, the black-haired girl didn't want her girlfriend to cry, nor did she want to start needless drama.

"I'm gonna go out… for some of the things… on our," she cringed at the word, "shopping list."

Selena grabbed her arm defensively, but Demi yanked it back from the grip. The black-haired girl didn't think she'd ever seen her girlfriend so hurt—well, except…

" _Mmmph!" a voice cried, but nobody was listening._

" _Shut it."_

" _Mmmph! Mmmh! Hmmh! Mh—"_

 _The voice was abruptly stopped by tight hands around her neck. The voice came from a person with a bandanna tied tightly around her cheekbones and her feet and wrists bound to the hangers of the locker._ _It's Demi, and her tormentor is Selena; like it'd be anyone else. Selena's hands were wrapped around her neck tightly, causing the girl's skin to go to a deep blueberry purple the tighter she gripped._

 _Selena let go, and Demi cried out into her gag, head rolling up._

" _Teach you to shut the hell up?" Selena asked, cracking her knuckles as a warning._

 _There were no muffles. Just a soft sob and then silence, and Selena knew it was a comply to her terms. Selena stretched her back with a snort, glaring at the girl. It was after school. The sun had set, and the school was completely void of anyone else but them._

" _So, you probably know why you're here."_

 _No response._

 _Selena's foot met with the bottom of the locker, and the tied girl shot up in shock, eyes glimmering with pain and fear. Selena smirked. Finally, long-awaited power._

" _Nod or shake your head. Do not ignore me," Selena practically hissed, rolling her tongue in exaggeration._

 _Demi nodded obediently, like a scolded puppy. Except she wasn't exactly a puppy_ — _she was a rat and it was all Selena would see her as. A dirty, little rat with crumbs in her hair and deserving of gashes or cuts. A rat that deserved to be trapped with poisoned leftovers and cheese-baited traps; a rat that deserved to have its neck snapped in seven different places._

" _Now, I heard you're being pretty sleazy with my boyfriend. Is that right?"_

 _Demi shook her head wildly, and Selena immediately swooped back, her hand slamming against the back of the locker, right next to Demi's perked head. Now, the bully's fingers with spread against the withered paint on the back locker, fingernails cutting against the metal. Their noses were only slightly brushing now, but it felt more like fire to Demi. For some reason, her anger was doubled today. The bully snarled, "Oh yeah, another rule… Don't fucking lie to me."_

 _Demi's eyes contracted, but there seemed to a little bit of anger in her eyes. Selena didn't pay attention to it, instead leaning back a tiny bit. Selena looped a finger around a chunk of the girl's cascading hair, splitting the strand into pieces with her thumb. In all the same second, Selena's thumb retracted from the line of hair and instead yanked it down, causing Demi's head to jerk in the direction of the pull. There was a sharp cry of pain, but it was thoroughly ignored._

" _Stay away from my boyfriend, slut."_

 _Demi shivered and brought her eyes up, full of hurt and pain. Slowly, she brought her head back down, not daring to stare Selena in those wide, brown eyes that held all of the power. Briskly, she nodded. it was only one nod. She wasn't pushing it, she wasn't being overly obedient—but she sure as hell was hateful._

 _There was just as much hate in her eyes were sadness, droplets of sad looks and depressive lip quivers that were hidden behind her gag._

Selena cowed out in terror at the memory, it hurt her so much to think of all of the things she'd done to the girl. How much she thought of her as a measly voodoo doll that could be punched and stabbed, slapped and pricked with needles. Her hands rushed to her face and she wished dearly that she could turn back time and stop herself from doing it.

Why was she so stupid? Why couldn't she just be nicer to Demi? It was like she was a hurting machine, destined to hurt Demi over and over again. Selena thought that once they dated, Demi's day-to-day misery would end, but it looked like the popular girl just kept continuing it. She wished it would change.

* * *

 **hello! a bit shorter than I wanted this time, but yeah! also, i know they're fighting a lot but i swear it'll get better :^)**

 **\+ next update is coming a bit sooner than next tuesday, just cuz**


	3. Three

**im SO sorry this is so short but i was busy all week so i had to push this out before my tests caught up to me :}**

 **[i also updated this a bit earlier than usual because i felt like it was too short to be a separate update... and i felt bad for leaving their relationship on a bad note last chapter]**

* * *

Demi pushed her eyes to the floor, hands shoved inside of her red hoodie, it was her favorite. She had got it from Selena herself, only a week before this huge ordeal. Demi had mentioned that she had lost her only hoodie a while ago, and Selena was happy to go buy her another one soon after. The girl found it cute, if anything, especially since Selena hated shopping for anyone.

Demi pushed her way into the local gas station, sighing audibly. She made her way to the first section she saw, so she looked like she was here for a purpose other than mindless time alone. The place was barren, empty, no words being spoken. Only cheap, classy pop music played on the overhang of the speaks and the sound of the entrance bell drawled out for as long as it could before you could only hear cold music and deep sighs.

She grabbed milk, but then put it back. She didn't even bring any money to pay. Why did she think coming here would be a good idea?

"Hey, come here," someone from the desk called. Great, were they going to ask her to leave because she couldn't pay? Just what she needed right now.

"You're cute." The man at the counter said, his eyes sprawling across her body. What? She was wearing jeans and a hoodie. Almost _none_ of her skin was showing. Damn, the man was truly that desperate?

"Thanks." Demi answered dryly; she had no interest in people who randomly complimented her… oh, enough excuses, she only wanted Selena.

"Wait—" the guy squinted, before smirking. "I know you... Demi Lovato. Who knew? You're pretty."

Screw this guy. Demi ducked her head, 'Yeah. Okay. Sure. See ya."

It happened all the time now, so Demi wasn't surprised. Their high school seemed to be universal, and everyone knew about how people used to make fun of her. Also, how she was pretty now. Terrible. Demi hadn't even really done anything to change her appearance, it was mostly just her confidence that seemed to catch people off-guard. After all, she was always timid in high school.

"Hm, maybe we should go out sometime."

"You… You bullied me _every day_ ," Demi shouted slightly, a vein popping from her forehead.

"I only make fun of beautiful girls…" He leaned in, parting his lips as if expecting a kiss. His eyes held murky confidence, like he expected her to jump into his arms just because she used to be the runt of the school. Even if she wasn't _happy_ with Selena, she still would have turned this guy down.

Wait, was she really happy with Selena? Did she just subconsciously admit that to herself? Yikes.

Even still, all Demi could think was, _is this guy for real?_ She pressed her thumb pad into her index fingernail and flicked the promiscuous boy in the nose. He opened his eyes in shock, but she simply smirked at his obvious amok.

Demi turned around and slunk from the gas station with nothing in her hands. She missed Selena. She missed Selena's touches, she missed the girl's hand streaking through her hair. Agh, it was stupid of her to ever leave where she belonged. Belonged? Great, now she was admitted to herself that she belonged most with Selena. But… was Selena still mad at her?

Either way, Demi was going back.

* * *

"Hey." Demi greeted once she had closed the door and dropped her shoes near the turn of the entryway.

"Dems?" a shaking voice spoke from the couch. She could hear it so clearly, and it broke her heart entirely.

Demi sprinted closer to the couch, allowing Selena to smother her in a hug, filled with crying whimpers and choked apologies.

"Stop… Stop crying…" Demi told her, pressing her cold nose into the warmth of the sobbing girl's neck.

"I'm so sorry Demi." The girl cried out in sadness.

Demi could only hold her closer. _You're too good for me,_ Selena thought in the silence, the only sound audible being her own soft cries into her shoulders. Demi held her closer to her chest, fearful that Selena would break any more.

"I'm scared," Demi was saying before she knew what she was doing.

"Of what?" Selena's voice was so broken, lips trembling as they struggled to get the words out.

Demi weaved a hand through the girl's hair and pushed it to the back of her neck instead of answering. The crying girl easily molded back into the still cold-whipped girl's shoulders. She laughed weakly, "I don't know. I'm scared that you'll hurt me again sometimes... and I try to be brave... but..."

Demi couldn't even make herself go on. From the way Selena's hold loosened and then tightened, she could tell that it wasn't getting them anywhere.

"I'm sorry," Demi apologized, the red-soaked hoodie on her arms linked around her back like flimsy ribbons and non-driable clay. "I'm so sorry."

Selena could not tell her—would not tell her… because she didn't want her to know that she could do so much better. Because she was selfish; because she would never be able to get over her otherwise. If Selena told Demi that the girl could do way better, find someone who was the best, then who was to say Demi would not just get up and leave?

Selena peeled her tear-sticky face from the girl's neck, a bit of laughter cleaning her face of grief. She looked Demi in the eyes, "Hey, why is it that most of our conversations are apologies?"

"Mm," Demi shut her eyes, looping a covered arm just above the girl's shoulder blades. "I don't know."

"I was supposed to go to work.. but… I called in." Selena explained, rubbing her eyes. "I wanted to stay with you."

"Just go to sleep, hun," Demi advised, pressing a kiss on to her head. "Go to sleep."

* * *

 **yes! thank you thank you, i will update soon so! stay tuned n thanks for reading**

 **happy holidays,,,**


	4. Four

**hi! welcome**

 **happy new year! [for me, at least!] i hope you all had or will have a good time**

 **letS GO**

* * *

Demi stretched out her jaws in a yawn, leaning her head against the dashboard of the car. The girl had been up since three am the previous night, and now all she wanted to do was bury her face in Selena's chest and fall asleep.

A hand moved between her shoulders, resting there for a while before turning in circles. Demi arched the blades of her shoulder in ecstasy at the feeling, letting the owner of the hand laugh.

"Come on Dems," the girl pinched her eyes together, patting Demi's back a few times. "I know it sucks, but we gotta go to school."

In a second, the door next to the tired girl was swung open and two hands were pulling on her shoulder and her fingers. Demi had to give into Selena's yanks eventually, allowing the girl to maneuver her to her own feet and back to reality.

The walk to the front gates of school were supplied with her leaning on Selena's shoulder and occasional hand-squeezing from the former bully to keep her awake. However, once the two reached the gate and could hear bustling students from inside, Selena crept her fingers away from Demi's.

"Selena," Demi looked up at her from her shoulder. "Can we please just tell everyone we're _dating_? I'm tired of pretending."

The girl's mouth opened momentarily, but she soon squeezed her eyes together and shook her head. She sighed, "I don't think I'm ready for that."

Demi worked her jaw side to side, meshing her teeth together in what could only be described as pure annoyance. However, she breathed in and replied a shaky, "Fine."

With that, the girl's head was off of the other one's shoulder, sauntering into the school three inches apart from her. Selena pursed her lips, ready to say something about it, but Demi interjected.

"Wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea, would we?"

Selena simply sighed and nodded in half-hearted agreement. Today was gonna be _long_ —unbearably long.

* * *

The day was filled with passive-aggressive glaces and somewhat curled smiles, but Selena wasn't expecting gym class at all.

"Hey Dems, let's be partners." Selena asked rhetorically, but Demi simply turned around and scoffed.

"Sorry. Can't. Partners with Cathy," Demi swung an arm around an unsuspecting Cathy, who had her red hair in a tight sock bun and her extra-long boy shorts running down to her bruised knees from soccer. The girl most always worked alone, mostly because she enjoyed giving practices her all and nobody else in the class could keep up with her.

Cathy grinned, "Dang Lovato. Sure, I guess. Just keep up and we won't have a problem."

Selena's eyes widened, and she clenched her fists at her sides. Why was Demi doing this? Friends are allowed to be partners in gym!

As Cathy pulled up her socks and re-tied a single shoelace, she started to walk off to find an area for their warm ups. Meanwhile, Selena was baring a hole into Demi's head with her dagger-sharp glares.

Demi pulled back from waving Cathy off and smirked, leaning into Selena's ear, "It's a bit suspicious that we're always partners, don't you think?"

Selena's body was rocketed with tingles, and she instinctively covered her ears with hair at Demi's lips brushing against it. She hated being ticklish there, because Demi constantly made fun of her for it. Lovingly, of course… except now it seemed super passive aggressive.

Demi threw a smile on, sauntering away and towards Cathy.

Near the wall, Cathy was stretching her knee to her chest, holding her leg by the ankle and pushing up. Cathy greeted her with a grin and shot the girl a peace sign.

"So, why aren't ya partners with Selena? Y'all fighting?" The girl asked, snapping the hairbands on her arm in some sort of preparation. The teacher announced some more rules, but Demi had got the jist of it while she was deciding if she wanted to explain what happened to Cathy. It would be nice to get it off her chest.

Basically, you just had to run to the other side of the court, grab a beanbag from the pile, run back, and pass it to your teammate. Then, your teammate had to shoot the beanbag into a bucket of their own designated team. During this, your teammate could continue to get more bean bags. Only 3 beanbags could be on the shooting teammates side that are not in the bucket, and they'd played it thousands of times before.

Right away after the whistle, Cathy sprinted down the lane and scooped a beanbag between her fingers.

 _Shit!_ Demi remembered, focusing and allowing Cathy to toss her the bean bag before she started sprinting off again. The other groups were running as well, but not as fast as her, who could be compared to a Cheetah in Demi's mind. Instead of dwelling, she tossed the beanbag from where she was standing and luckily had it bounce off of the rim and into the bucket.

It kept going like this, but Demi wasn't getting lucky anymore. Three bean bags were piled by her, and Demi was still struggling to get them each in. Cathy came sprinting back with another, pausing when she noticed the girl's maximum pile.

"I'll slow down," Cathy breathed out, resting her hands on her thighs. Demi quirked an eyebrow.

"Really? I thought you didn't slow down for anyone."

"Heh, why not make an exception for you?" Cathy asked with a shrug, and that encouragement was enough for her to shoot another. Then another, another, and the one Cathy had just came back with.

Meanwhile, Selena seethed with her inactive gym partner, who she had been gathering beanbags for but they had not been shooting. Then, she told them to switch and they ended up walking— _walking_! Slow, short-strided walking!—while she aggressively shot the bags the best she could.

She watched Demi work well with Cathy, the way the red-head even _slowed down_ for her. Cathy didn't slow down for anyone! That was her whole motto! It was enough to send Selena over the edge, grinding her teeth together. The girl would rather tell the whole school that they were dating than have Cathy hitting on her girlfriend with painfully obvious stares and shifting hands on her _girlfriend_ 's back.

Not fair. Selena could feel her rage growing the longer she was forced to watch the two commute. Her rage, and her lust every time Demi would do, like, anything. Mostly, she thought how the girl would clap and grin happily when she made a basket was so _fucking cute_. Selena wished that it was her being partners with Demi, that it was her passing the beanbags and sprinting just to keep Demi supplied.

Once class had ended, Selena purposely pushed past Cathy, grabbing Demi's hand in the process. She almost dared herself to look back at Cathy to see her confused face, but thought against it. Instead, she pulled Demi from the gymnasium and into the closest bathroom. It was right to the left by the water-fountains, and whoever was inside had better watch out.

Three girls were pressed against the mirrors, pushing their cheekbones up and pressing blossom pink lip gloss to their puffy lips.

"Out." Selena hissed at the preppy girls harshly, the grip around Demi's wrist tightening.

Demi let out a small, sad cry at her tightening hand. The girls instinctively scoffed, until they turned and saw Selena.

Their eyes widened, mostly because they recognized the once mean girl. Though Selena had become noticeably nicer since Demi, people still shuddered when she walked by and flinched when she spoke, whether Selena was being nice or not.

"Did I fucking stutter? _Get out_." The girl repeated, feeling her rage for Cathy, Demi, and these snotty girls build up and bubble over the top. She knew she was flying off the handle, and it only got worse when she heard Demi's audible whimpering and felt her attempt to peel the strong fingers from her wrist.

The three girls gulped and grabbed their bags, shuffling from the bathroom as soon as they could. Just to make sure they knew their place, Selena glared at their backs before turning back to Demi. Her grip finally loosened, and the formerly-bullied girl snatched her arm back, rubbing it in circles.

"What the hell, Selena?" Demi growled out, arm close to her chest. "You were so mean to those girls, and what was with you pushing Cath—"

Lips met hers mid-ramble, but they weren't kind and gentle, they were rough and forced. A hand was pushed into her hair, forcing her head closer to the lips that felt so rough now. Demi mumbled some profanity, pressing her hands against Selena's shoulders in an attempt to get her to stop. Instead, she was pushed against the wall, and she let out a dry cry into Selena's lips.

"Holy shit," Demi finally broke the kiss by turning her head, and she felt Selena's nails sink into her scalp. "Ow! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Demi swatted the girl's hands away from her scalp, tears almost welling in her eyes. Selena's fists clenched, "I don't know why you've been acting like you don't know me all day, but it's getting ridiculous! If you don't stop, I'll—"

"You'll what, Selena? Punch me? Kick me? Force me against the wall again? Lock me up?" Demi's eyes flashed, and her eyes narrowed accusingly. "Or maybe you'll slam my head into the lockers just to prove your point."

Immediately, Selena's heart raced and her eyes turned softer. She shook her head, "Shit, I'm sorry…"

"Forget it." The girl spat, turning around abruptly and leaving the bathroom, letting the echo of the closing door fill her mind.

Selena watched her go, the scene replaying in her head like a broken record, projecting a side of her that she'd longed to bury. She promised herself that she would never hurt her again, yet here she went. Gym class had just aggravated her so much that her anger had really blown over the top. Her emotions had just taken control over her actions, and she soon found herself actually thinking only _after_ Demi had yelled at her.

And now, her entire relationship with Demi was on the line.

* * *

 **Selena:** Demi, I'm so sorry. I got really angry today and I'm genuinely so sorry.

Selena chewed on her lip; she had sent the text nearly an hour ago. Demi had read it, but didn't respond. All Selena could do now was worry, especially since it was after school and Demi hadn't met her at her locker, hadn't met her outside, and now she was sitting alone in her car, anxiously looking out her window as if she expected her to come running.

Selena decided to call her, only after 10 minutes of nail-biting and hand-writhing. It was a long, tedious call that lasted for longer than Selena remember phone calls could last for. The dialing would ring, pause, then ring again. On the final ring, she could only hear the sound of rustling wind... and everything came out at once.

"Oh my god! Demi! I thought you died, I was so worried, I—"

"I got a ride from Cathy." There was a long beep after those rotten words, and Selena slowly removed the phone from her ears. Demi hung up on her.

Hung up…

Demi had never once hung up on her; not even that one time when Selena had prank-called her, still acting like a bully. Selena had pretended to be an abortion clinic, with Taylor and Jen acting like the other doctors in the background. She made Demi put the phone of speaker so that her parents could hear before delivering fake information about a pregnancy Demi didn't have.

Let's just say Demi's parents didn't like that... but even still, Demi did not hang up. She sucked in a breath, cried, and then waited for Selena to end the call. Demi had just hung up on her for the first time.

Were they even girlfriends anymore?

* * *

 **i know, i know, i suck, but! things get better... i actually tried doing a story outline for this story so we'll see if i like using that better than winging it all the time :^)**

 **vroom**


	5. Five

**hi! welcome, i hope you're all ready for angst on a hamburger bun :^)**

* * *

"Not like I mind givin' ya a ride home," Cathy turned slightly in her seat, not peeling her eyes from the road. "But ya seemed super mad when you answered Selena. What happened? Y'all were best friends."

Demi put her hands in her lap calmly, leaning an elbow on the passenger's seat window, which was rolled down and blowing air through her hair. She replied, "It's complicated. Anyways, just turn here."

Cathy turned on her blinkers and curved into Demi's alleyway, grinning once she realized that she wouldn't have to wait to turn like everyone else in her lane. Demi had to admit that maybe she was being a bit too dramatic, she never came home to her dad like this; not even when she had regular fights with her girlfriend. It was just the fact that Selena had rounded up on her and began acting like a bully again... and how she shoved Cathy, who was possibly the sweetest person she could've met. She didn't even _like_ Cathy like that, but she knew the difference between a nice person and a bitch, for lack of a better word.

Even still, Demi was upset. She was upset that Selena still acted like Demi was the defenseless victim who would do anything she said. Demi let out a sigh as Cathy stopped near her father's mailbox, retracting her elbow from the window.

Since her mom had left the situation, her Dad had done some remodeling, and now the house looked quite impressive. It was almost 4 o'clock when they pulled up, and Demi knew that she had to rush since her dad would be leaving in about twenty minutes for work.

"Thank you for the ride, Cathy," Demi smiled gratefully, leaving the freckles on Cathy's cheeks to seemingly light up with a smile.

"Ain't a problem, hun," Cathy pulled a bobby-pin from her bun and squeezed it between her lips, hair knotting around her fingers. "So, you're really not gonna tell me why you're fighting with Selena?"

The now home-bound girl froze, but swiped a piece of her hair to the side carefully. She gulped, "I guess…"

Cathy waited in expectancy, moving the stick shift to a subtle park, despite the 'No parking validated' sign near the lot. Demi lowered her head in fear.

"She's just… she hasn't changed, or she's not acting like it. I mean, I only asked her for one thing; to change her tendencies."

"You _only_ asked her to change herself for your benefit?" Cathy poked fun at the girl, but Demi shook her head and scoffed.

"When you put it that way, you make it sound bad," she explained. "Selena just used to be a bully. And you know, if we're gonna be together then—"

Demi's eyes widened when she realized what she said, fiddling with her hands nervously. The bobby pin in Cathy's mouth wobbled as her eyebrow raised. Demi recovered herself, "I mean, if we're gonna be friends, then I expect her to… not bully me, or others, y'know?"

Cathy smirked, "I heard that slip-up. So you guys are together? Hm, didn't expect that."

"No!" Demi insisted, shaking her hands. "It was a mess up, I'm super tired."

The redhead curled an eyebrow, continuing on with her assumption, "I didn't peg you as gay, Lovato. No, actually, I'm more surprised about Selena. Not gonna lie there. I swore that girl was a straight as a ruler."

In a second, Demi was stuttering, trying to shake her hands wildly. Cathy smirked at her utter flailing, simply laughing at her half-hearted attempts to bury down what she said.

She continued, "So, how in the world did it happen? Did Selena kiss ya when she locked you in the lockers?" in Cathy's defense; it would be quite stupid that a tormentor and said tormentor's _tormented_ would even be friends, much less lovers. It still hurt Demi's feelings nonetheless.

"Oh, oh, wait!" the red-head laughed, obviously lost in her world of jokes. "Did Selena bully you into submission? I swear I wouldn't hold that one against her!"

Demi's cheeks flushed, her fingers balling into fists by her side. She knew Cathy was just joking—possibly only lightening the mood—but she couldn't help but feel like it was purposefully insensitive. The way she was laughing like it was practically unbelievable... Demi could hardly stand it. So, she quickly unlatched the door and hopped from Cathy's convertible without a second thought. She needed to get out of there as quickly as she could!

"Wait, Demi," the girl called, but Demi ran to her door, tripping over her own feet as she did. She could feel tears shifting down her face, but she wasn't sure why. Nah, Demi knew why. _Selena_. Now, her former bully would be even madder at her. She'd exposed their secret, and from there things would probably get worse. She'd go back to living in a dirty house, coming to school with scars, getting pushed into lockers… she also couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that she was worried more about Selena than she was for herself.

It was all down in hell, and she soon tore her spare house key from the similar hole in the wall. Through the foggy tears, Demi smiled a bit knowing that her father had left it in the house's design through renovation. The teary-eyed girl plunged the key into the lock and twisted it open, leaving Cathy behind watching her. She was glad that her tears weren't exposed—since her back was facing Cathy's car—but even still it was embarrassing. Why would Cathy say those things? maybe she didn't know Demi was as sensitive as she was...

Demi just needed to calm down, that was all! She just needed to slow her breathing and remember that her dad wasn't mean anymore. The girl had to remember that her house was clean; and that she doubted Selena would go back to her bully phase after all they'd been through. Especially that, because Demi had lots of dirt on the girl now that she never had before. Of course, even if it came down to it, Demi would probably never use it. Which sucked. Badly.

Once she got inside, her dad was running to the door, a half-happy half-surprised look on his face.

"Demi! Why, what brings you here?"

She froze. She didn't want her dad to see her like this; crying her eyes out at trivial things that would never matter to him. She turned slowly but surely, her foggy, crystal-dropped eyes meeting his piercing scruffy ones.

"Oh, baby," he scooped her shoulders between his hands and pulled her closer to his chest, embracing her tightly in his arms. "I'm just gonna take a guess. Selena?"

"It's… a combination." the girl choked out, burying her face into her father's neck, his beard brushing against her forehead.

 _More like a shitstorm_ , the crying girl thought, already comforted by her dad's embrace. Unfortunately, though, she couldn't help but miss Selena's arms, instead.

* * *

Selena was frantic. Her fingers were flying across buttons on her phone, calling every friend she knew and still could talk to. She was asking for Cathy's number like wildfire, hoping that at least _one_ person had that bitch's number.

She was scared; who knew what Cathy was capable of? Maybe the girl had dragged her home and drugged her… but that was really far-fetched. Selena just wanted her girl back; and better yet she wanted to scream at Cathy for everything that had gone wrong today. Trying to calm herself, Selena remembered that yelling her problems at Cathy wouldn't make her feel any better. She also had to come to terms with the fact that Cathy was not the cause of most of these problems. After John, her 7th grade boyfriend, laughed at her and hung up, Selena made a pretty wild decision. She picked up the phone and dialed Demi's dad, whose number was there just in case of an emergency... well, this was an emergency.

Just like his daughter, he answered on the final ring, just before the dial tone played.

"Hey, you call—"

" _Oh my god! Mr. Lovato! Is Demi okay? Is she safe? Is she at your house? I've been panicking all day, please tell me she's with you, I don't know what to do, I'm—"_ Everything came out of Selena's mouth at once, and soon she was bombarding the man with questions that she knew he didn't have the answer to.

"Woah woah woah! Honey, Honey, Demi's at my house," he heard her sigh, "But she's very upset with you."

"I-I know," Selena answered quickly, just a bit more relaxed now that she knew the girl was safe. "Can I… May I talk to her, Mr. Lovato?"

The girl tried to use proper etiquette to avoid any of his infamous dad jokes. The man sighed from the other line, and Selena could almost imagine him furrowing his eyebrows at her. She could imagine the creases in his lip flattening as he chewed on his lip in thought like hard gum.

"I'll ask, got it?" He said after a few minutes of silence and light breathing. At first, Selena nodded against the phone, but replaced it with a quick yes soon after. She could feel her heart bubble and spike, but she mostly felt heartburn when she realized: Demi would most likely decline her offer to talk.

Now, it was her backup plan; try to remember where Demi lived. She had only been once, to pick up Demi's stuff from her room. To remember it clearly, back then, their tension was so thick you could gut it like a dead fish.

Selena tried to shake those thoughts, and she kept trying to remember where Demi had told her to drive to, but all she could think about was Demi's rolled-up shorts and how she would desperately try to pull them down. The way she'd pull at the rim and expose some of her hip, just begging to get the fabric over her upper-thighs—god dammit! Focus, Selena, focus! The address... what was it? Ugh, curse her hormones!

"Hey Champ," she heard from the other line, which got her focusing real quick. "The boss said no."

Selena's heart sunk, "Oh…" She felt even worse than she did before, like anyone could swoop in and drag her by the ankles into a lake. Instead of fighting, she would just shut her eyes and enjoy the rapid water beating against her skin like bongos.

Of course, nobody would be kind enough to do that to her. Her finger hovered over the 'End Call' button, and it was basically taunting her. It knew that Demi would avoid her at school, and knew that Selena wouldn't be able to squeeze in half-thought-out apologies in a bathroom stall anymore. It also knew that she had completely forgotten the girl's address, and Cathy probably already had it memorized.

Cathy, Cathy, Cathy… Why wasn't she more like her? Why wasn't she athletic or kind enough to listen to Demi when she most needed it? Cathy probably wouldn't be afraid to tell the school about a relationship, no matter what it did to her reputation. Cathy was so much better than her in every way; and she hadn't even began to touch on how Cathy wasn't the one that used to push Demi into thin lockers and spread rumors on old social media. The girl was about to end the call, until the man on the other line sighed out.

"Hey... Buddy. I know my daughter loves the shit outta you. So I'll text you the address," Selena practically exploded in word-form, but her dad continued on, "One rule. You just can't hurt her."

With that, Selena's depressed from turned into a bright, long smile that went to her earlobes. The taunting she had heard from the voices inside her head ceased when she cried, "Thank you! Thank you so much! You won't regret it!"

"You'd better not make me."

* * *

 **WOO**

 **i hope u all had a good new year! 2019 is here and it's wilding**

 **anyways, thanks for reading and hopping in!**

 **[school started back up for me, so bleeeh]**

 **bye !**


	6. Six

**im sORRY THIS IS A DAY LATE ! i really am, i totally lost track of time this week**

 **so it's short, very SHORT and i am sorry**

 **[this is also... kinda horrible so please spare me]**

* * *

Selena had made the rash decision to skip school for the day, just to meet up with Demi. The things a girl has to do for love, I guess.

Selena knew that her art teacher would probably go berserk on her for skipping, but she planned to get Demi back by eighth period anyways. The girl had parked her car outside the girl's house, despite the no parking signs, and even decided against knocking on the door.

That's what girlfriends do right? They enter their partner's house without permission… Selena was basically grasping at straws at this point, so at least give her some credit.

"Hey Dems," Selena asked when she entered, dropping her shoes beside the door and hopped up the stairs, smirking when she saw the fingerprint in the windowsill from the last time she was over. So, she guessed despite the remodeling, the dust was still alive.

The girl moved up the stairs, remembering which room was Demi's since she'd last been. Timidly, she knocked on the door and only heard a grumble on the other side. Selena assumed that the girl would promptly open the door and gasp, then the screen would freeze-frame and a 'To Be Continued' would flash atop, just like a bad sitcom. Unfortunately, there was no answer, just rustling bedsheets.

Selena opened the door after a while, leaving it ajar when she moved to the side of Demi's bed. The girl was half-asleep on her pillow, back towards Selena and extending one hand out towards the corner her bed was placed in.

When she turned, the girl shot up and widened her eyes, but Selena spoke first.

"Listen, Demi, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for acting like a bitch in the bathroom and being so high-maintenance," the girl sighed, tears brimming her eyes. "What can I do to make it up to you? I miss you."

For a split second, Demi softened. However, it was gone in an instant and the girl replaced it with a scowl, then a firm poker-face. She breathed out, roughly, "Listen. If you want me back, then I want to tell the school we're dating."

Selena squished her teeth together, feeling indifferent about it. She wanted to, indeed, but she had worked so hard for the reputation she now had. She had worked so hard to make sure that she wouldn't feel the same as she felt in elementary, alone at blue lunch tables, no partner when there was a group of three somewhere else. She went from the runt of the playground to the queen of school—but that was years ago! The girl had told herself that kids were less cruel now, but just look at how she treated Demi. If there were any kids like she was back then, they were both screwed.

Selena didn't think she could go back to that time, she didn't think that she could live through what Demi had lived through all of her life. Maybe she wasn't as strong as Demi or Cathy... maybe Demi deserved better.

Demi raised her eyebrows in expectancy, trying to meet her girlfriend's eyes. Selena looked away, instead, rubbing her arms up and down in fear of losing either. Selena looked back to Demi's judging eyes, but then looking back at the floor of her room. She wanted to comply; wanted to swoop her into her arms and say "Totally," but she was stuck to the ground, shoes like glue.

"Oh," Demi spat angrily, "Nevermind then. I can see how important I really am to you. You care about your reputation more than me."

"That's not true!"

"Then pick one!" Demi's eyes contracted a bit, tears welling at the ends. "Because you can't have both!"

Selena's tears began to fall freely now, wondering what she should do. She wanted to keep her girlfriend but she also wanted to keep her reputation. Why couldn't she have both? Why couldn't it be a fair balance? Why was everything so unfair?

"I love you," the girl choked as a last resort, grabbing Demi's hands. Instead, Demi turned away and yanked away from her soft grip, trying not to show her tears.

"But you don't. If you did, this wouldn't be so hard for you." she insisted, pulling her comforter close to her chest. "Why don't you just leave?"

With a sad mumble, Selena wiped her tears and turned around, hands gripped on the door. There was so much she wanted to do, so much she wanted to say, but she opted to leave as quickly as possible.

Selena's eyes were overflowing with tears now, despite her body's interference of it. She wanted to leave, she truly did, but she knew that she would feel empty as soon as she got in her car and drove away from the girl who she had changed drastically for.

The girl paused at the doorknob of Demi's room, as if waiting for Demi to say something, anything to her that would make her stay. Even a quiet 'bye' would make her turn around and scoop her up. When nothing was said, Selena decided that she would count to ten slowly and hope that words would flow through the air like summer breeze. So, in her head, she counted,

 _Ten_. Selena waited slowly, waiting for a sign.

 _Nine_. Her feet shuffled and her neck was wet with sweat.

 _Eight_. The hand she had left on the doorknob was beginning to sweat as well, slicking the doorknob effectively.

 _Seven_. Her eyes were burning, threatening to cry again.

 _Six_. She heard Demi cross her arms awkwardly.

 _Five_. Halfway there; why? Why hadn't she said anything?

 _Four_. _Please say something._

 _Three_. Silence, silence was more evident than ever now. Selena could even hear her pumping blood.

 _Two. Don't do this._

 _One. Please, please don't forget what we had. Why aren't you talking?_

Selena paused. Zero. Zero was next; her counting was done. Silence was still open and welcoming, not a sound other than a whirring fan and shuffled feet against carpet.

Like a stubborn child, she refused to say zero and admit that her time was over, she only twisted the handle and gulped, pulling herself away from the house. Selena had promised Demi's dad that she wouldn't hurt the girl, but perhaps she had done simply that. The girl walked down the stair emptily, her feet felt like elevated feathers with no weight and her eyes were filled with cascading tears that wouldn't stop no matter how void she made herself feel. She almost felt apathetic, but she knew that deep inside, she was so broken that her body couldn't process it. That, instead, it had locked it in a box and roped it to another side of her brain just to protect Selena from collapsing on her stairwell.

There was nothing to be done, she counted to ten and still everything remained quiet. It was clear Demi did _not_ want to talk to her, and maybe Selena should just respect that. maybe Selena should just _leave_ forever and let Cathy date Demi... maybe that would be best for everyone, so that Selena could keep her oh-so-precious reputation and Cathy could get the girl she had been eye-fucking during gym. Demi would get her knight in shining armor, someone just as strong and resilient as she. Everything would be normal, as it should be... but Selena didn't _want_ it to be all the same. She wanted Demi, god dammit! Maybe, though—Demi truly didn't want her.

Selena only wanted what was best for Demi more than she wanted the girl's love. If only Selena knew that Demi was counting to ten as well, waiting for the other to speak just the same.

* * *

 **yes! thanks for reading, and sorry again for it being short and sad i was thinking of continuing it in this chapter but break is coming for me so ill be able to write more then. I've got like 12 tests coming up though so we'll see how it goes for poor old me**


	7. Seven

**hi! thanks for stopping by, here's the next chapter! a bit longer cause of filler but I think we're gettin somewhere ;)**

* * *

Morning came too quickly in her opinion; and the sun shining through the cracks of the windowsill brightened her gloom a bit. It returned just as quickly as it appeared when her fingers brushed over the empty side of her bed.

Everything sucked right now, even that happy sunshine outside. The girl stood from her spot, snatching a brush from the bathroom counter on her way to the kitchen. Angrily brushing through her wavy, knotted hair, she found herself pulling a bit too hard and ripping hair from the prongs of the brush.

"Jeez, I need to calm down," the girl murmured to herself quietly, noting that she should also work on talking to herself.

The girl instinctively grabbed a bag of tea from the top of the cupboard, not even thinking about it. She paused halfway, the leafy mesh packet still clasped between her middle and index finger.

Hold on, why was she making tea? There was nobody to nag her about not having coffee anymore; she was free to be unhealthy if she wanted to!

The girl threw the packet back in the peach-colored box, instead brewing a cup of coffee for the first time since Demi had told her about the health risks.

Bitterly, Selena thought, _What does she know about health risks? She's the one that broke my heart. That sure can't be healthy._

Selena found herself sipping creamed coffee an hour before school, wondering when coffee ever tasted so bad. Usually, it was her only support in the mornings, but her immune system had taken a liking to tea. Of course, Selena's pride was too big to admit that, so she continued sipping, pretending like it was the best thing in the entire world.

Thirty minutes before school was to start, Selena had brushed her hair, combed it to normal, dressed herself, and finished the last drop of unsatisfying, bitter coffee. The girl couldn't help but crave tea, but letting her body have that craving would probably have it believe it could have its other craving; Demi. Simply not possible.

Because the girl had gotten there so early, she had to sit in the entrance with about twenty other students, all whom avoided her like the plague. Selena glanced from side to side, noticing that everyone had their own friend groups and their own places, while she sat alone in the corner. The roles were reversed majorly; she was always the crowded, surrounded one while others stood lone and confused.

It felt _wrong_. The girls she had picked on once a few years back were hanging out happily, not sending a side-eye her way. The boy who she constantly called a loser in the hallways—before Demi—was leaned against the left wall, chatting with his best friend. If the supposed loser could have friends like that and still be happy, then what did that make her?

That was the thing; Selena would never be alone. She had always imagined the day she told the school about her relationship with Demi, she would be sitting alone in the lunchroom with her head on her hands. But she always forgot to incorporate one variable, one that she should have included in the first place; Demi!

She wouldn't be alone, because she would have the girl sitting next to her, one hand nestled in her hair and the other resting on her lap. She was so stupid. She had literally forgotten to include her own girlfriend―sorry, ex-girlfriend―in the plans. Now, Demi wasn't even here with her. If she was, Selena wouldn't be alone, instead she'd be chatting it up with her like nothing was wrong. She'd fit in the the other twenty kids as easily as a white stain on a very light gray carpet.

The girl immediately stood up, wobbling with the doorknob to the school. She _needed_ to get in the art room.

"It's locked, stupid," a girl whispered from the corner, her friends giggling. Selena whipped around, and the girl flinched, covering her hands with a gasp.

"Oh my god… I-I'm so sorry! I call everyone stupid, I didn't know…" she apologized fiercely, dipping her head down so that her nappy curls touched her thighs.

Selena squinted, looking at the rude girl's personalized phone case and then her dangling necklace that seemed to be hand-made. "Can you do arts and crafts?"

"Wha―" the girl started, but Selena offered the girl her hand, wiggling her fingers.

"I need to make an art project so my girlfriend will take me back," Selena answered blandly, trying to hide the fear she felt. What if she was shamed for it? "So you down?"

Instead, the girl grinned a wide smile and shut her eyes, latching onto her hand warmly. "Totally, dude!"

The popular girl smiled gleefully back, proud of herself just a little bit. Before her ordeal, she would've been terrified to say anything like that, but now the original thumping she felt whenever it was brought up had turned into slightly-tapping butterflies. It wasn't as scary as she thought, especially because of the positive reaction.

They traveled through the attendance office, with Selena saying a quick lie that her art teacher had asked her to come in early. The lady at the front desk, who was way too lazy to say anything, just sighed and buzzed them through the doors.

"So, who is it?" the girl asked, eyes sparkling, "Is it Taylor? Oh my, that'd be―"

"Tell me your name first," Selena demanded in a way, wanting to make sure there were no bad rumors about this girl before she said anything.

The olive-skinned girl smirked, running a hand through the puffy black curls that met at her shoulders. She answered, "I'm Ryleigh, call me Ray though."

Selena thought for a second, racking her brain for any rumors about her. She remembered someone in the hallways saying something about her, but at the time Selena didn't care enough to listen in. She only listened to rumors that spread, and she probably knew all of them by now. Jason had a stomach rash, Macy was seen at a homeless shelter, the usual.

"I'm gonna tell you, but keep your mouth shut until I tell everyone," Ray nodded impatiently, waiting for her continuation. "You're the first person I've told. Literally."

Nodding excitedly, the raven-curled girl clasped her hands together, "I'm so honored! But I won't tell anyone. I'd never want to out someone like that."

Selena turned into the second hallway, feeling very uneasy with the fact that the usually crowded hallways were now empty and barren. Getting to school early was so _weird_ , remind her to never do it again. Ah, sidetracked! Selena turned once again, facing Ray who had a goofy smile on her face.

"Its Demi." Ray gasped audibly, but Selena shot her a look that told her to be quiet.

"Demi... Lovato?" she continued on, unsure.

Selena nodded for emphasis.

Oh. My. God." the dark-skinned girl cheered silently. "I honestly would've never guessed. I always thought you were faking being friends with her just to bully her some more."

Selena's eyes downcast. That sounds like something she would've done a long time ago―in fact, something she _did_ do, a bunch of times. Ray noticed her distraught expression, and she waved her hands wildly.

"Not that you would do that! Not what I'm saying at all―"

"But I did do it," Selena stopped her, "I was so mean. And I just can't stop hurting her. Really, doing this is my last hope."

Ray sighed and rubbed Selena's shoulder comfortingly, "Hey. I dunno a lot about relationships, but if you care this much for her then you gotta show her."

Quietly, Selena nodded. She agreed with Ray, but still felt incomplete with the answer. The girl _wanted_ to show her, and she was ready to, but what if it wasn't enough? What if Demi simply didn't want her back after everything?

"Hey, I know that look," Ray crossed her arms. "You think she won't forgive you. Well…"

Ray purposefully pointed down the hallways, feigning anger, "We are going down to that art room and we are going to make her the sweetest art project in the history of sweet art projects."

Selena smiled.

"Sweeter than cotton-candy flavored ice cream on sugar-baked cinnamon rolls with taffy on the side," Ray confirmed, her smile perking, "So sweet she'll get type two diabetes just from looking at it."

The popular girl smiled and laughed throatily, already feeling better about the whole thing. In a haste, she cracked her knuckles and smirked. "You're right. We'd better hurry, though, I have a feeling it's gonna take a lot of convincing."

* * *

"Please. Please!" Selena even resulted in clasping her hands and begging on her knees. Why couldn't he just let them do a few things? I mean, it was obvious Selena cared when she was willing to get down on the dirt art-room floor.

"Selena, you are always either late or absent for my class and even on the rare occasions are you on time and present, you are unfocused and unprepared. Why would I let an irresponsible student in possession with my art supplies—which I pay for myself, by the way—at all?"

Selena pouted, but it had no effect on her art teacher. Not even a small amount of hesitation, his eyes were cold and his arms stayed crossed around his torso like shoelaces.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Veta," the girl apologized, showing her fingers to indicate that none are crossed. "I just need to give my girlfriend something special!"

"Demi?"

"No—wait, how the hell did you…"

The art teacher grinned, unfolding his poncho-draped arms, smacked with globs of dried paint and led marks on the tips of his fingers. The man pushed two fingers in the scruff of his hair, tapping it repeatedly to indicate that he knew. "With my wife Shelly and I, we used to have so much… well… _sexual tension_."

The man blushed profusely, seeming to hate the phrase like turtlenecks on a summer afternoon. He gulped, "I was always… timid, to say, and she was bad and out there. Well… we had to do a Romeo and Juliet play..." his eyes gleamed. "I fell for her hard. I just didn't know it. We fought more after that, because I think we were both scared of what we felt. At the end of the semester, though, I raised the courage to go up and kiss her during the class rollerskating derby."

Selena grinned happily, feeling her heart swill from happiness at the story. Mr. Veta laughed, "Wow, we're married now. I can't believe it still."

The man flaunted the gold circle on his ring finger, dotted with white swirls and some initials that weren't visible to Selena. He continued, "Man, the moment I saw you two fighting, and how you always looked at her desk sadly when she was gone from school…" he tried to continue, but ended up chuckling. "I knew you both were blissfully unaware of what was going on, like me and Shells." _Shells… That's so cute! I want to have a pet name like that for Demi one day._

Selena fiddled with her hands, but Ray was beaming beside her, her smile like 32 bright light bulbs. Selena only squished her knees together awkwardly, shrugging her shoulders lamely. The man smirked.

"You know what? I'll help you. But not right now, I've got loads of scheduling. Come after school and we'll get started."

Selena could not hold her excitement, and she simply burst from her seat, "Yes! Thank you Mr. Veta, I will swing by as soon as possible!"

* * *

 **hi! thanks for reading. I'm super sorry for any mistakes, by the way, I try to proofread before i send these out but my eyes miss a few things :^) If i make any mistakes dont hesitate to tell me**

 **bye!**


	8. Eight

**hello! welcome back, this chapter is more of a building chapter but i hope it's still fun to read lol**

* * *

Tapping her foot quietly, the girl scribbled swirls along the rings of her notebook paper, mindlessly tuning out her rambling teacher. She was sitting in Oral Communications now, her teacher rambling about making your voice sound louder around other people. Demi had been in Spanish earlier, but sat as far away from her as possible and took notes the whole time. Just for that, Selena grinded her teeth and snapped her pencil led mid-swirl. The girl never paid attention, and suddenly she decides to take notes? Ugh.

Luckily, it was a Thursday, which meant that study hall was right after her third period. She didn't expect Demi to talk to her during Study hall, but she could head to the back and get some well-needed rest. She also wanted to find Ray and thank her for giving up her time to help, despite the fact that she didn't even truly know Selena.

"Selena," her teacher cleared her throat. "Come up here."

 _Well, damn_ , the girl thought bitterly, pushing off of her seat with her fingertips before making her way to the front of the class. The Oral Communications teacher snickered, practically, scanning the crowd.

"Very good, now, Travis? Please come up here." a brisk, shaggy-cut male grinned, a bubble of laughter falling out of his throat.

The man slapped his buddy on the shoulder before approaching the front, giving Selena a quick eyebrow-raise. Selena didn't know much about Travis; just that he was about as popular as her and that he was _so ugly_. For some reason, girls fawned over him like he was a piece of meat. Of course, Selena was basically gay, so she guessed that was something. Still, though, there seemed to be not one attractive thing about him.

His blonde and brown trimmed hair looked like soggy noodles and his eyes were as boring as a blank wall. They were just blue, some sort of boring blue. Not even electric blue, a grayish blue that didn't even sparkle. Meanwhile, Demi's eyes were a chocolate swirl of hazelnut freckles, candy-glazed pupils that sparkled like cold moonlight. Dips of whipped-cream colored lights would swim inside of the sweet cocoa-colored pores like soaring eagles would fly through the air.

There was _nothing_ about him that even compared to Demi—he was nothing next to her. Even his personality, which she assumed would have to be at _least_ good, was horrible. He didn't care about his grades, he always slacked off in group projects, always made fun of people, and yet people _still_ swooned over him. All this time she'd been bullying Demi, she really should've been bullying him. What a waste―no! She shouldn't have been bullying anyone. Demi wouldn't want that.

 _Wow, look at you! Finally taking your girlfriend's advice._ Selena thought to herself bitterly.

"Hello? _Selena!_ " her teacher was snapping in front of her face, while Travis was smirking, a gleam of mischief in his _boring_ eyes.

"Oh! Yes? Sorry, what?" Selena rambled, shaking her thoughts away. A wave of laughter ran over the room and then fell, only lasting a few seconds in fear of the old Selena.

Selena just _wanted_ to scream at them that she wasn't old Selena anymore. That she was so different from then, and most of all that she had a girlfriend to show her that. Unfortunately, she couldn't, because her teacher was handing them both a script.

"Act this out, and use _emotions_! Feel your character. Selena will start."

She didn't _want_ to start! Ugh, leave it to Mrs. Byrch to demand that she begin. The woman practically hated her.

"Oh, woe is me." Selena said apathetically, showing absolutely no emotion.

Travis tried to continue, but her teacher intervened with a finger up scoldingly, "No no no! Emotion, Selena, emotion! You _are_ the character. Try again."

Selena really didn't want to. She wanted the teacher to shut up and let her do the play satirically. However, with the way the students were staring at her, she decided she would try her best to 'act,' up until she would most likely croak out with laughter at the silliness of the play. Her teacher wrote every one, and was always really proud of them, but they came to be pure reflections of her teacher's life or things Mrs. Byrch wished would happen to her.

" _Woe is me_!" Selena exclaimed dramatically, crying out as she slumped to the floor, her script rustling. Mrs. Byrch looked at her with surprise, but masked it and clued Travis to follow.

"Oh, uh, my lady! Why are you crying on this lovely day?" He exhaled, coming back to character.

"Why, my poor husband has fell in the ocean and drowned!" Selena decided she should cry. It would be fun to actually try in this class and maybe get a few good points, so it would mask some of her negative ones. Most of all, though, she wanted to stick it to Mrs. Byrch, wanted to show her that she wasn't just makeup and popularity.

So she thought of Demi, her smiles, her eyes, her cheeks… how desperately she'd counted last night and how she urged for her the morning after. It wasn't long before clear tears rolled from the corners of her eyes, welling at the base of her eyelashes before soaking into her cry-proof mascara (lucky choice!).

Mrs. Byrch looked like she was ready to gasp and scream at the same time, but she held her composure and continued scribbling notes on her notebook page. Meanwhile, Trevor was off his acting game, or at least he seemed to be compared to Selena.

"What ever shall I do without that lovely man?" she cried once more, dropping her script strategically to her waist while her face found itself dug into her hands.

Travis spread his shoulders as the script requested, placing a hand on Selena's shoulder. Even he swore that he could feel his hand burning atop her shoulder, with her radiating so much immeasurable hatred. Selena didn't want to be _touched_ by such a sleazebag; leave it to Mrs. Byrch to enforce that. He spoke, dignified, "Well, little lady, I'll be your husband."

Selena squinted at the script, feeling her lip curl. Reading ahead, she saw that the lady happily accepts his offer and rides off into the sunset with him. The girl just lost her husband! Why would she take a stranger's offer into _marriage_? No way, not happening. She wasn't going to let Travis have that satisfaction; or Ms. Byrch. She also didn't want to think about not being together with Demi.

She stood and shouted, "Now, wait just here!" Travis and her teacher suddenly bore confused looks, wondering where it was in the script. Before Mrs. Brych could even say anything, Selena continued.

"I just lost my lovely husband, and you think that I will jump into your offer of marriage? Well, nay, I say!" Selena pretended to look at the script, "I will go find someone who respects me to marry! Good day!"

Selena flipped around, kicking invisible dirt up with her shoes and stomping off of the carpet-performance area in their room. Once she had retreated the stage, she looked to the audience, who had some attentive people and others were kicked back, on their phones and not paying attention. _Aw, man, and I tried so hard on that, too_!

"Miss Gomez, that was not apart of the script." Mrs. Brych crossed her arms, gesturing to the script with her eyes.

"The script was dumb," her teacher gasped in offense, "So I improvised."

Mrs. Byrch hissed out, "Despite your thoughts, it is not the actor's place to rewrite the play."

"You told me that _I_ was the character. And _I_ wouldn't do that."

Before her teacher could start screaming nonsense at her, Selena dipped out of the class with her bag hanging from her shoulder. The girl grinned, knowing that she had most likely tuned her teacher's day. Who makes their students reenact silly things like that anyways? Even worse if she had done the intended ending for the play.

* * *

Now, she had Math―which wasn't too bad. Math was fun sometimes, and she genuinely enjoyed her teacher. He was a nice man in his forties, maybe, with a creamy brown mullet. He always dressed like an eighties disco-man from the waist-up, with eccentric mesh shirts and colorful tie-dye tank tops underneath. Unfortunately, his pants always consisted of some black jeans or white sweatpants. The man had explained that the male teacher dress code allowed any appropriate shirt or accessory, but plain, long pants.

One day, he roller skated into his classroom with a cup of sizzling coffee. Unfortunately, it didn't last long because he crashed into the wall with his new coffee and ruined his pure white skates. After that, the dress code extended to only wearing tennis shoes or slip-ons.

Selena chuckled to herself on the way up the stairs, wondering what crazy outfit he'd be in this time.

"Thank you, a ton, Mr. Gall," Selena heard a familiar voice on her way up the stairs, and paused in front of the same girl who had been ignoring her all day.

"Nah, you're good Demi! I know you're a good student. Now hurry to your next class."

"Yeah, I'll―" Pause. A long pause as Demi started at Selena, gulping down the rest of her words that were now long forgotten. Mr. Gall was staring between them, his eyes as wide as saucers yet sparkling with interest all the same.

Demi had the same math class right before Selena did, so while Selena was prancing around in Oral Communication, Demi was scribbling down equations and tapping her pen on her assignments. They were _so close_ to have the same math class. So close! Maybe, though, now that they were fighting, it wouldn't have been a good idea.

"I'll… I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Gall." Demi gulped, rubbing the back of her neck and swerving around the frozen girl before she got to say anything.

"Woah. I feel nostalgic," Selena's teacher jeered when the girl finally was able to make it to her seat. He slid up to her, pretending he was roller skating. "Feels like I'm watching a sitcom."

Selena grumbled, "Does it, Mr. Gall? I hate sitcoms."

The girl knew that she shouldn't take out her frustration on Mr. Gall, but it was just so hard to not let them escape.

Mr. Gall smiled a bit at her, but decided not to push since she already looked to be in a bad mood. Instead, he made it to the front of the class as the last remaining students poured into their seats. He danced his marker against the whiteboard, creating a warm-up problem for the class to solve. It had taken a while to understand his chicken scratch that he called handwriting, but the class pretty much knew the difference between his "h"s and "n"s now.

Selena tore a fresh page from her notebook and began to scribble a half-thought-out answer for the man. He never really checked them anyways, which allowed the girl to essentially guess on all of the answers.

Selena knocked her head back after guessing, crumbling her hands onto the desk. When would study hall come?

* * *

 **don't you love mr gall? he reminds me of an old teacher i used to have, really exaggerated though :^)) g'bye!**


	9. Nine

**welcome back! so this is another chapter, its a tiny bit long but still kinda short**

* * *

 _Brrrrng!_ Selena's bored eyes immediately filled with excitement when she heard the familiar stream of rings from the bell.

"Bye, Mr. Gall," she waved to him as she left, and he quirked an eyebrow but said nothing.

The girl stomped down the stairs and into the hall, where a cluster of students had already invaded, spread among the lockers like leaves on damp autumn grass. She scanned the area for Ray, planning on thanking her. When she couldn't find her, her mind automatically searched for Demi instead.

Selena couldn't help but feel a bit sad, knowing that during Study hall the two girls would always dip into the furthest bathroom where nobody ever came and make their way into the handicap stall, kissing until the bell unsatisfactorily rung through the ears. Now, Demi would probably be doing that with some other girl or boy, a wider smile on her face than she ever had with Selena.

Even through the thoughts, Selena tried to find anyone she knew. Unfortunately, the moment she turned, an impressed face met hers. It was Travis, in all of his smug glory.

"Dang, Selly—"

"Don't call me that." Selena spat angrily, feeling the need to flip him off. Only Demi was allowed to call her that.

"Shit, my bad," he throatily laughed, leaning against the locker so that his hand was on one side of her face while his face was inches from hers.

Selena could almost kill him, and if his lips twitched into a smile _one more time_ , she would definitely kill him.

"Impressive act in Oral Comm class," oh man, he really wanted to die, didn't he? "But how about this—let's go on a date."

Selena laughed, half-nervously and half to save herself from actually hurting the boy. Unfortunately, he didn't take the hint and smirked. She wanted to punch him in his smug face, but knew that it couldn't be the case.

She looked to her side, and there she saw her. From Math, Selena hadn't gotten the time to appreciate Demi's outfit. Unfortunately for the _extremely, immeasurably gay_ girl, Demi had decided to wear black, high-waisted jeans with short ankle socks dipped inside of her white tennis shoes. Her shirt was a lopsided, alabaster sleeveless shirt with black horizontal stripes that had an elastic grip over her chest and ended just at the end of her stomach. The shirt's ends were ruffled and curved, with the right side of the shirt shooting up slightly, creating a half-diagonal end.

Why, god? Why now to have Demi wear something so _amazingly_ sultry? When they were fighting and when Demi absolutely hated her guts? Oh, why god? The girl had cried to herself long enough to realize that Demi was staring at her uncomfortably, noticing how the man practically pressed against her kept getting closer.

Shit, she seemed _worried_ —but also upset. Guilt; so much guilt filled Selena. Selena gulped, her mind racing. Travis was getting close, and Demi seemed to be ready to walk away. It could be forever, this time, and Selena didn't want that to happen! However, if she said no to Travis, her entire reputation could go down the drain. I mean, she could just go out with him once and force him to buy everything for her, which usually got most boys to dump her… but it would feel wrong to even talk to him with Demi staring at her, an unreadable expression dancing across her features.

Her brain and her heart were having an arm wrestle, each one deciding a different thing for her. Her brain fought for reputation and her heart fought for… well, Demi. Even though she wasn't arm wrestling, she felt like she was the one losing. Either way, either victor, she lost a specific thing that matters lots to her. It was just a question of which mattered more.

Selena wanted to cup her hands over her ears and slide down the lockers, but kept her composure to the best of her ability. Pros and Cons, Selena! Pros and Cons of rejecting him.

Pros of rejecting him would be that she wouldn't have to _deal_ with him. Another pro could be that she might have another chance with Demi if she shows her that she's serious about them. Hmm, and if she rejected him, she wouldn't get his hopes up of her liking him. That would also bring his ego down by like 60 octaves.

Cons? Her reputation, her popularity, he could get upset and do something drastic… Ugh, of course the pros and cons were equal numbers. That's just how it is. Now, Selena would have to level which cons and pros were more important than the other.

She really didn't want to; she just wanted to eat ice cream in the cover of darkness, with a sleeping Demi on her lap. Running her fingers through the girl's hair while she shoveled a metric ton of strawberry ice cream between her lips. Falling asleep with her head against the rim of the ice cream bowl... Woah, wait… she just came to imagine Demi in her dream sequence. In fact, she'd been doing it a lot lately!

Quietly, she placed her fingernails to her lips and glanced at the girl, then the closer-leaning man. What to do, what to do? Suddenly it all came back to her, the bathroom stall and the words of now broken promises. The hazy midnight thoughts that brought her to squeeze the empty side of her bed like a stress ball, praying that there was something other than soft cloth beneath the pads of her fingers.

" _I don't care. I don't care what any of them fucking say, I just… I need you."_ Selena remembered saying in the bathroom that day, and yet she'd broken it so easily.

She knew what she wanted, and yet she had pushed it off for so long. She wanted everything to pause in place for her to ponder longer, but she knew that she needed no more time than what she was given. Her heart was no longer struggling to arm wrestle the enhanced muscles of her brain, instead it had her brain at an inch before the metaphorical table, ready to push it down.

All her heart needed to win was one thing; and Selena knew just what it was. She knew how to do it, she knew why she had to do it, when she had to do it, everything. Still, she was _terrified_. With that one single thought, her brain began to win again in the theoretical arm wrestle inside of her mind. Selena shook the fear free like a dog would shake water droplets from its shaggy fur.

Selena didn't only want her heart to win, she wanted Demi. The popular girl wanted the other so badly that it was basically torture to see her in _those clothes_ and _that expression_. Why was she even thinking this over? There was nothing for her brain and her heart to discuss.

With that, she gave an apologetic smile to Travis and spun from his seductive aura. Not that it had any effect on her, though. She glanced to Demi, who quirked an eyebrow at her―which wasn't fair. Nope, not at all.

"Sorry Travis," the girl smiled, backpedaling so that her torso finally brushed against Demi's. Of course, Demi backed away, but even that flutter of a touch was enough for Selena to decide that she was hopelessly, mindlessly craving the one thing that she had pushed away.

"I'm gay," Demi's head shot up at Selena's words, "And I like someone else."

Travis's entire face ran white, the blood in his body rushing to his toes. Selena straightened her feet and pushed out her back, dropping the rear of her head on Demi's left shoulder. Now, her eyes were pointed up at the ceiling and her hair spilled along Demi's shoulder and back. Lowering her knees so that she required more support, Selena beamed up at her partner, eyes sparkling,

"You know, I was mad at you literally four seconds ago," Demi commented, brushing a strand of hair away from the girl's eye.

Selena smiled, shutting her her while still perched on the girl's shoulder. She puckered her lips, expecting a kiss. However, before she could get it from the _smartly-dressed_ female, Travis broke in.

"This is a joke, right?" Travis sputtered in shock, practically pulling the two away from each other. "Before you two even became friends, you were interested in me!" He pointed to Selena, baffled.

"I'm a good actor, I guess," Selena shrugged, moving closer to Demi's side. "You're a good guy, but... not my type, I guess."

Travis worked his jaw together, clenched fists balled near his sides. Demi and Selena were now catching up, leaning close, seeming to forget that Travis was even there. _Nobody_ had ever acted like this to him before, there was always at least one girl fawning over him and staring at his face like it was fresh chocolate. However, Selena could care less about his anger-morphing face. She was focusing on Demi now, unbelievably happy that the previous tension had been blurred. Travis grinded his teeth together harshly.

Selena had showed interest in him; he swore! Acting, was what she claimed? No, it couldn't be… nobody had to act to love him! Everyone _swooned_ over him! Of course, his ego was basically the size of a penny now. He couldn't believe that out of everyone he could've asked on a date, it had to be the _one girl_ who would say no. He grabbed Demi's hair without another thought, anger pulsating through him. He didn't believe a word she said; he simply could not.

"Damn it!" the boy shouted, lifting Demi's hair so that she faced him. "I'm not gonna be messed with, Selena!" Demi squirmed, pushing at his hands with a desperate cry. Selena gasped, gripping to his arms and swatting them desperately. Ah, why did she never work out in gym? The one time she needed superficial shit like that! The girl peeled at his fingers and rammed her fists against his biceps, but he wasn't budging.

"Get off of her!" Selena cried out, but Travis kept pulling. She kept yelling, however, kicking and pushing like there was no tomorrow. "This isn't a game!"

Selena swung her fist to Travis' cheek, but he didn't seem to feel it at all. He flinched for a second but yanked Demi away from her girl in attempt to stubbornly re-inflate his ego. Some people began to turn their heads, but they chose not to get involved. Selena silently cursed her weak limbs. She dug her nails into his arm, but he managed to kick her in the thigh and send her scuttling away. When she had recovered and was standing up straight, she could see Demi's horrified face and her clenched jaw, obviously pissy and hurt at the same time. Her nose was crinkled and her lips were pressed together in rage.

 _I shouldn't have gotten her involved!_ Selena cried out inwardly, noticing that they had caused a scene in the middle of the hallway. _Why are there no teachers in this hall? Ugh, I forgot they all get coffee at this time! Travis must've done this on purpose. I guess I have to do this myself..._

Selena didn't know how much more she could stand. Some few members of the now gathering crowd seemed to try to help, but were pushed back by a few of Travis' friends. Selena cursed them too. Travis yanked at Demi's hair, and once Demi cried out in pain again, her eyes lashing with fresh tears, the popular girl's rage bubbled over the top. She had already hurt Demi enough by bullying her; and she would _not_ stand by and let it happen again. Finally, Selena went to her last resort; biting. She dug her front teeth into the flesh of his arm, sinking her bottom teeth into the same large chunk. _Chomp_.

The boy screamed, immediately unlatching his fingers from Demi's hair, getting it slightly caught in some strands. Even still, Selena pulled the girl back and into her arms, as if to protect her from his rage. One arm was snaked around her waist and the other was holding Demi's shaking shoulders. Selena glared at him, her eyes like sharp, glowing stones. She did not care if she drew blood from the bite; she wouldn't have even cared if she had torn off the chunk of skin instead. Demi was safe in her arms now, and Selena would _never_ let Travis touch her again. Selena knew just how much Demi hated getting her hair pulled.

 _"Ugh!" Selena dug her nails deeper into Demi's skin, pressing her against the wall of an empty bathroom stall. "You're gonna get me caught!"_

 _Demi had walked in on her smoking a cigarette near the bathroom mirror, scrolling on her phone while she took multiple hits. In that second, she'd gasped and tried to escape, but Selena had already caught sight of her from the corner of her eyes. With a quick stride, she was holding her by her neck and pulling her roughly into an open stall on the left. Selena put out her cigarette flame on the girl's forehead, which caused her to yelp loudly. The cigarette sizzled to a stop, but Demi's sharp shouts were still going on._

 _It echoed throughout the stall, and Selena had sunk her long nails into the girl's exposed neck. She snarled once again, "Jesus, you're such a buzzkill, you know that?"_

 _Demi didn't answer, as she knew not to. Otherwise, Selena would just insult her (or hurt her) even more than she would've before. Selena smirked at the girl's silence, "I'm gonna assume you won't tell anyone about this, right? Otherwise, I'll tie you to the flagpole," she jeered, gripping the girl's shoulders roughly, "Nude, too. So everyone'll see_ **_everything_** _._ "

 _The girl's face became a deep red, and she looked away from the piercing brown eyes that were staring humorously at her. Her head came up and down in unceremonious nods, which made Selena's grip loosen._

 _Demi scuffled from the stall quickly, losing the original motive to use the restroom as she had come in for. Her heart pounded as she approached the door, but she had to stop. She jerked around quickly, "Y-you really... s-shouldn't smoke though," Selena's eyes flashed with something Demi couldn't pinpoint, "It d-destroys... your lungs..."_

 _Whatever was in Selena's eyes trickled away as she stepped forward, grabbing a piece of Demi's mane in her fists, "You think I don't know that?" Demi shook her head no, but Selena yanked down on the tight strand of hair in her fists. Demi sobbed out lowly, feeling the rough scraping of her roots stretching her scalp._

 _The bully grinned suddenly, "Oh, I think I found your weak spot," she taunted, fisting the other portion of Demi's hair between her knuckles. She yanked both down, causing the girl to blubber out in pain. "You're gonna regret speaking, brat."_

 _That was the last time that Demi tried to talk back._

"You _bitch_!" he cried, rubbing the teeth marks on his skin. "I can't believe you bit me!"

"You pulled my girlfriend's—" Selena looked to Demi nervously and then to Travis, "You pulled her hair!"

Selena wasn't sure that saying 'girlfriend' while Travis was still rampaging would be the best idea. She just wanted him to leave her alone. So as much as the girl wanted to exclaim to the whole school that Demi was _hers_ , right now she only wanted Travis to get the hint and back off.

He started to pound forward, but some voices and a curt whistle halted him. Selena tightened her grip on Demi, until she recognized the nappy-haired friend that had supported her in her quest.

"Hey, Travis," Ray huffed angrily, the girl's own friends behind her, "Why don't you stop being a sore loser? Let them live."

Selena beamed at Ray thankfully, noticing Travis seem to shrink at the raised eyes that were on him now. People were staring even more questionably now, wondering what was happening for such a commotion to go on. Some were looking at him with utter anger, after having witnessed the whole thing. Others seemed silently proud, but there weren't enough to speak for.

Travis clenched his fists and jogged off, leaving Ray to run over and squeal with Selena.

"Oh my lord, you guys are so cute," Ray obsessed over the two, with Demi shooting Selena some confused looks.

"This is Ray, the first person I told about us…" Demi's eyes widened, obviously shocked. "She was gonna help me do an art project to win you back, but I guess we don't need to do that anymore!"

Ray grinned and laughed, giving her a high-five. A crowd had formed now, shooting questions that lapped over each other. Some were, "Wait, how?" and, "That's so weird," but they all seemed to be slightly, somewhat positive.

"I swear, I thought everyone would be mad," Selena referred to the crowd, eyes sparkling.

"I think it's great!" a girl from the back exclaimed, "I mean, even after you started talking to her, you got really nice."

Some else chuckled nervously, "Yeah... I bumped into you once two years ago and you call me a clumsy whore." Demi hit her girlfriend on the shoulder jokingly, crossing her hands over her chest. The same person ran her fingers through her hair and continued, "But, a week or two ago, I bumped into her and she smiled and said sorry."

Murmurs of agreement rumbled through the crowd, along with light laughter and some playful glares from Selena. The previously mean girl laughed a bit, "I was pretty terrible, wasn't I?"

Demi interjected jokingly, "Oh yeah. You really were."

The girl grinned and poked Demi on the cheek, causing the crowd to laugh further. Some of her schoolmates were confused, but didn't dare say anything to the two girls. In fact, they mostly just walked by and said nothing at all.

"I'm sorry," Selena frowned, "I really am. I'm a big dummy sometimes."

"Like I don't know that already," Demi interjected, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, Demi," she turned from Selena abruptly, only to see the same red-headed athlete whose car she had jumped from earlier in the week. "I'm sorry about... what happened in the car."

Selena furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, glancing from Demi, to Cathy, and then the crowd. The girl then shrugged and gave Cathy an apologetic look, "No, it's okay. I think I overreacted."

"Are we cool, then?" Cathy asked, mostly to Selena rather than the popular girl's girlfriend. "I think you two are really cute."

While Selena still had a heavy grudge against the athlete, she couldn't help but acknowledge Demi's pleading face. There was no reason Selena should be a bitch to her; it wasn't like anything _bad_ happened to Demi when Cathy took her home. She was definitely going to ask her girlfriend about what happened later; to gauge whether or not she would have to tear Cathy's head off.

"Fine, we're cool."

Maybe things were alright now—or so she assumed.

* * *

 **not the end! a few more chapters and we're good to go!**

 **woo! they're back! also, this is a bit of a longer one? it wasn't originally so long but i added a few extra things in over time**

 **there's some more... spice coming but nothing too bad [wink]**

 **see ya guys later!**


	10. Ten

**welcome! this chapter is a bit of mindless fluff... in contrast to the actual story line but i felt like after all poor angst that yall deserve better**

* * *

Demi closed her locker, a tangerine-colored book wedged between her arm and her chest. It was for English (second to last class of the day!) and it was pretty unlucky that the bell had just rung and she had to go all the way to the other side of the building to her locker to get it.

She had borrowed it once from her teacher when she couldn't come to school, but if she waited more than a month to return it then she'd have to pay some sort of hefty fine. Well, just luckily for her, it was the last day that it was eligible to be returned. So, lateness aside, this was productive.

Suddenly, a strong grip snaked around her waist, just below her ribcage, squeezing her tight. She'd be scared as hell if she didn't waft the scent of blueberry shampoo that Selena would buy in packs―you know, ever since Demi let it slip that she _really_ liked blueberries.

"Go to class," Demi mockingly scolded, making sure her lock was locked before turning around in Selena's grip.

"You aren't in class, though," the girl dug her face into Demi's neck. "Why should I be?"

Demi's eyes rolled so far into the back of her head that she thought she would explode. Of course, she laughed at Selena's playfulness. She truly didn't care to be in class right now, she was over the moon that Selena was even willing to expose herself to such an extent. Unfortunately, the overdue book in her chest still played a part in her decision.

"Very funny, but I, _we_ , need to get to class to return this book."

Selena made a half-whine, half-grunt sound and retracted her hands from the girl's back. Demi shuddered at the loss of warmth―not surprisingly, she had gotten accustomed to it―but covered it up and held her hand up, sideways, the palm facing Selena.

Selena looked at it, beaming as bright as she could possibly manage before snatching the hand in a grip that Demi could not explain. It was tight and possessive, probably to tell anyone who walked the school that Demi could _not_ be 'claimed,' as Selena would put it.

The girl laughed almost, but wiggled her fingers free and instead interlocked them with the Selena's―the ones that were frayed along her knuckles. She squeezed to agree, agree that Selena was hers as well.

"Calm down, Hulk," Demi laughed under her breath. "You might break my hand if you squeeze harder than that."

Selena grinned jokingly, squeezing even harder than before, "You're gonna have to fight if you want to get out alive."

"Oh dear," Demi exclaimed, arching her elbow so their interlocked hands flung in the air. "How will I ever escape? For I am just a poor maiden!"

Demi's voice was imitating a medieval damsel, begging for a knight in shining armor to come sweep her away. Selena had the voice of an evil villain, set with the occasional villainous laughter and maniacal moustache-twinges.

Selena chuckled, her nose crinkling in laughter, "Poor maiden, only I have the key that will save your hand!"

"Then please give it to me, I must escape!" Demi dropped her english book at this point, busy on the session they had created.

"Why, not unless you give me a kiss on the cheek, fair maiden!" Selena turned her face, using the hand that was not squeezing Demi's to poke her own cheek. "Maybe then I will loosen my grip!"

Demi stuck out her tongue, "Never, I say! I shall never kiss you, a vile beast!"

"Ah, my heart," Selena cupped her chest in false agony. "Thou have wounded me! Now, I will squeeze harder!"

Selena kept her promise, squeezing as hard as she possibly could. It hurt only a bit, but Demi knew that it was all in good fun. She continued on, faking pain.

"Mercy! Mercy!" she half-shouted, trying to be kind to the classrooms they were still next to. "I guess I have no choice but to put my lips upon your hideous face!"

Selena's lip twinged, leaning her cheek closer to Demi's mouth in expectancy, "Then do it!"

Before Demi could give her a kiss, she grinned wide and thought about their current relationship. How, a year ago Demi would've been slaughtered in a mere second for calling Selena a vile beast; jokingly or not. Now, they were joking lovingly amongst themselves.

Selena was still waiting, her fingers still around Demi's. With a fought-back laugh, Demi leaned closer and pressed her lips against Selena's cheek, creating a smacking sound when she pulled away.

"Very cute," a deep voice came from behind them, and Selena grinned when she saw Mr. Veta, the art teacher, cross his arms jokingly behind them.

In a second, Demi's eyes bulged, mostly because she didn't want her dad to get a phone call about how she was _already_ causing trouble. She exasperated, "I'm so sorry, we'll get to class right away. Please don't call my dad…"

The art teacher smiled, almost, "I won't say anything, in fact I'm a bit relieved you two are acting more lovey-dovey than at each other's' throats."

"Right…" Selena smirked, finally releasing Demi's hand and instead slinging an arm over her shoulder. "I forgot; I was taking this troublemaker to class."

" _I'm_ the troublemaker?" Demi glared.

The art teacher quickly held up a hand, snapping once to get their attention, "Let's not test my kindness today. Go to class."

The two girls smiled as respectfully and happily as they could now, scurrying off to their class before any other nosy teacher could interfere.

Before Selena could walk full away, Mr. Veta tugged on her sleeve and snickered, "So, can I cancel your after-school project making? I noticed that you two were pretty close in class, too."

Selena grinned, giving him a thumbs-up that was fully exaggerated. He gave her a clean smile back, shooing her soon with her hands to catch up with Demi.

In the hallway past the art room, Selena turned and smiled, "Don't forget to call your father, fair maiden! Because I am kidnapping you and bringing you to my castle; a very sad, one-bedroom apartment!"

* * *

"Hey Dad," Demi held her phone up to her ear, while Selena was pressing her chin against the girl's shoulder from behind.

"Lord, Child, you scared me. Calling in the middle of school like this," her dad chided lightly, and Selena turned her head to Demi's neck, pressing her nose into the warmth.

Demi squirmed a bit, using her other arm to loop fingers through Selena's hair. She continued, "Sorry, but uh—"

With warning, Selena lightly buried her teeth into the girl's skin, right above her collar bone. Demi yelped in surprise, clutching her phone tighter as she sent a glare to Selena.

"You good?" her dad asked over the phone.

Selena trailed small bites up and down Demi's neck, punctuating them with kisses. Demi exhaled sharply, trying to elbow Selena away. She cupped the speaker and pulled it away, "Do you want me to come back to your apartment or _not?_ "

The girl smiled against her warm skin before pulling away and instead wrapping her arms around her torso in absence. Demi had to admit that it felt much more comforting and didn't spike as much arousal as _other actions_. In any case, she brought the phone back to her ear with a grumble.

"Sorry, papa," Demi breathed out, but she could hear her dad chuckling boisterously on the other line.

"I'm going to assume I won't see you at home?"

Demi's face flushed, "Y-yeah."

"Be safe." he couldn't help but laugh one last time, until he hung up and left Demi to hear the dialing tone.

Selena pressed a kiss against the nape of Demi's neck once she had slid her phone in her back pocket. Demi turned in Selena's grip abruptly, causing her to let go with a smirk.

"That was the most awkward conversation I've ever had in my life." Demi scolded her jokingly, pouting.

"Awh, don't be a baby." Selena leaned in to kiss the girl on her lips, but Demi instead turned and only allowed the popular girl's lips to meet her cheek. "Hey!"

"Don't be a baby," Demi snickered, tapping the girl's nose with her finger. "When we actually get home you can do that."

They were still in the school yard, right beside the opening doors. Mostly everyone had gone home by now, except for a few stragglers who were waiting for their parents or talking with their friends. A few had lingering gazes to Selena and Demi's actions, but they tried not to care too vehemently about it.

"Then let's go," Selena pressed her fingernails into Demi's knuckles eagerly, pulling her along to the car. "Slowpoke."

* * *

 **im really sorry that it's so short this time, i'm super stressed because as you're reading this, it's finals week!**

 **by the time this is out, ill probably be done with all my tests but I kinda do stories on an update-later basis... I started writing this story back in november, but I only posted it in december because I wanted to start rolling out some chapters so I could take breaks while I waited for the next due date to come.**

 **anyways... unnecessary information lol - thanks for reading!**

 **[ also! WHOO it's so cold outside... ]**


	11. Eleven

**aaaaaaa i kind of hate this chapter? but it's fine**

 **anyways! there's some fluff in this and some drama... gasp**

 **lets go!**

* * *

Selena had her head poked against the back of the bed, a pillow supporting the curve of her neck and a black phone held between her fingers. She scrolled through her social media, smiling at all of the supportive messages she'd gotten. People that used to be terrified to look at her in the halls now chatted with her aimlessly, and Selena couldn't help but feel happy for that. She was about to press another comment, before something tore her away.

 _Ding_. Her eyes tore from the positive messages to the new notification on the top of her phone, from the name that she had terrified to see all day. Demi was still showering, so there was no way Selena could ask for advice.

 **Taylor :** _Hey_.

Selena churned her knees together worriedly, averting her eyes from the lit phone screen like she was staring Taylor right in the eyes.

 **Selena :** _oh, hey..._

 **Taylor :** _Look, I'm not mad_

 **Taylor :** … _well I'm a little mad. I'm just hurt that you lied to me but I guess I understand_

 **Taylor :** _just don't lie to me like that again, k?_

Selena could feel herself let out a sigh of relief, her chest heaving quietly in the room. The running water shut off, leaving a few remaining sounds of dripping water left over. With that, she heard the rustle of a towel before her girlfriend exited from the bathroom, letting steam escape as she did so. A floral-decorated towel was wrapped around her body, and a light blue towel was wrapped around her drying hair.

Without thinking much more, Selena sent Taylor a quick emoji and a 'got it,' soon dropping her phone to the nightstand, "Well, the Queen of England is here."

"Shut up," Demi whacked the girl with the duvet, an eye-roll following. "You know, this is on the verge of bullying, Miss Gomez."

Demi chided, poking fun at Selena's old behaviors. The mocked girl laughed and sat up against the headboard, rolling her fists against the blanket. She arched her back and leaned forward, squishing her face up to Demi.

"I'll show you bullying," the girl laughed, grasping at Demi's wet hair.

When Demi's hair came to her fingers, Selena moved it so that it hung over the girl's shoulders instead of sticking to her neck. She smirked, "After all, I am the most nefarious villain in all of history!"

Demi shivered at the ghost-like feeling of fingers against her neck, trying to regain her character from the hallways at school.

"Well, you're forgetting a tiny thing, lord of evil," Demi twirled, letting the ends of her towel flutter. "You don't have my hand in captivity!"

Selena slipped over the side of the bed, twisting her fingers in Demi's wet locks. Demi leaned her head into the touch, seeming to forget their small game for just a second. Selena rested her elbows on Demi's shoulders, hands still entangled in her hair. She came closer, parting her lips against the curve of Demi's chin.

"Tell me, Fair Maiden," Selena's voice travelled into the girl's ears, "I don't have your hand, but do I have your heart?"

Demi's face flushed, and and all from her ears to her cheekbones became a reddish pink. Her chest felt hot, like it was slowly burning over a fire. She breathed in, "W-well, why w-would you a-ask such a th-thing?"

Selena trailed her fanned lips from Demi's neck to the corner of her mouth, letting a slight chuckle escape her throat, "I was just wondering, Maiden."

Before Selena could fully kiss Demi's lips, the 'maiden' pressed her forehead against the villain's. She exhaled, slowly, "Isn't it interesting how a maiden can love a villain?"

"So you love me?" the faux-villain replied, inching closer so that their lips only remained a centimeter apart.

Demi smiled, grabbing Selena's bottom lip between her teeth. Surprisingly, she didn't protest to this, only breathed out in ecstacy at the feeling. Instead of saying anything, she used the lip between her teeth to pull Selena closer, leaving the space between them practically extinct.

In a mere second, Demi's lips enveloped Selena's, leaving a few remaining teeth marks on Selena's bottom lip. The fingers entangled in her hair moved higher, while Demi's hands roamed the territory of Selena's back.

"You know," Selena breathed out, pausing another kiss. "I really thought we were done for this week."

"I could never," Demi chuckled softly, "I was already having trouble functioning without you."

Selena rolled her eyes jokingly, prodding the girl's ribs, "Okay, dummy."

"Awh, why am I the dummy?" Demi asked, faking sadness. She moved away from Selena's warmth and instead to the dressers. "Why can't you be the dummy?"

The girl laughed quietly, crossing her arms as Demi looked for clothes, "Because I'm smart, Dems."

She turned slightly at this, her lips quirked in a soft grin, "That's a pretty big boast," she turned back to the dresser and pulled out a long t-shirt and black gym shorts. "Do you have evidence to back that up?"

Selena paused in their game for a second, following Demi's hands until her eyes met the shorts. She gasped, "Hey, wait, those are the shorts I gave you to wear when you first got here!"

Demi turned her head slightly, "Ah, so you're a tiny bit smart."

"Hey," Selena walked closer to the girl, reinstating their previous closeness, She sloppily kissed the girl's mouth and then her jawline, trailing them down to her throat slowly. "I _am_ smart."

Demi stifled a groan, lifting up her chin so that Selena could continue her kisses all the way to her collarbone, "I-I g-guess… you're a b-bit… _mmm_ … crafty…"

Selena paused at the middle of the girl's chest, right before Demi's towel began. The girl smiled against the warm, freshly-showered skin before Selena lifted back up her head.

"Thanks, now go get changed."

"Once a bully, always a bully!" Demi gasped angrily, but jokingly. "So rude."

Selena was buried under the covers by the time Demi was done brushing her hair and changing from her towel, half asleep. However, the girl's eyes were bulged at awake once Demi had crawled into bed next to her.

She inhaled the girl's scent, wondering why or how she had managed to smell like warm cinnamon when Selena didn't even _have_ cinnamon-scented shampoo.

"You wizard," Selena mumbled quietly, knowing that Demi didn't know what she meant.

"Am I at least a pretty wizard?" Demi asked, digging her head into Selena's neck.

Selena grumbled jokingly, locking an arm around the girl's back, "Whatever you want to be, babe," the girl grinned into her girlfriend's hair, "Whatever you want to be."

* * *

"Stop!" Demi stopped her girlfriend in the hallways abruptly, one hand over the girl's chest the the other spread out cautiously.

Selena gave the girl a peck on the cheek, "What?"

"Taylor," she turned to the side to expose the blonde, "Is she gonna be angry? I mean, after what happened…"

"Nah," Selena smiled, "We texted! We're cool!"

Despite her girlfriend's promise, she could feel the blonde's stare, boring holes into her. Demi reluctantly moved her hand down, allowing Selena to move freely to her locker. She followed her girlfriend carefully, since she didn't have anything to put in her own locker.

"She's glaring at me, Selly," Demi protested again, quieter than before.

"She glares at everyone I date." Selena shook away her girlfriend's fears, smiling at the pet name that was reserved only for her. "I'm sure she's fine."

Demi rolled her eyes at how dense the girl she was dating could be, but didn't say anything else. Selena pulled a spanish textbook from the depths of her locker, wiping off dust from how long it had been in there.

"Ew, you have a Spanish textbook?" the girl swatted flying dust away from her nose, "I didn't even know she gave those out."

"Well, it's from freshman year," Selena explained, flipping to the first page. "I never turned it back in to the teacher, but I don't want to get a fine."

"Selena Gomez, being a semi-good student?" Demi gasped fauxly, "That's new."

"Shut up." Selena nudged her girlfriend, shutting her locker carefully. "Off to Spanish class we go!"

* * *

Taylor seethed as they walked away, her fists clenched at her sides. She shouldn't have came today; she knew it would crush her internally to see Selena with _her_. Of course, Taylor was blinded by the idea that they weren't truly in love; but experimenting. However, after watching them go throughout their first periods and classes, she could see that the idea was practically a hoax. Their smiles, the way their eyes lit up, everything was a tell-tale sign of what Taylor fearing the most.

From the distance, she could see Joe struggling with his locker, one fist curled against the metal and the other fiddling with his combo. Taylor grinned, _Joe_.

" _Back_ _ **off**_ _!" Selena shouted throughout the crowded hallways, creating a vibrant echo that caught the attention of many passersby._

 _Selena had shoved Demi roughly into a locker, watching her bruised back hit the sides and squirm all the way down in pain. Taylor, who had saw from afar, began to run closer, halting once she was at Selena's side._

" _What's this about?" She asked mischievously, obviously not disapproving of the act._

" _She fucked Joe," Selena answered raggedly, her chest heaving angrily and her nostrils flared. "My boyfriend."_

" _I didn't!" Demi cried, forgetting the rule of not talking back for that sliver of a second. "He asked me out for dinner and I went, but—"_

" _Shut up!" Selena interrupted, pressing her elbow against the bruised girl's trachea. "I'm already gonna kill him for just talking to you." she traced the bruising of the girl's throat with her finger, pressing hard into the purple marks occasionally. "You, however? I'm going to_ _ **slaughter**_ _you. I'm going to gut you like a pig."_

 _Demi's eyes shown confusion and betrayal, and she wondered why Selena was taking the anger out on mostly her and not her disloyal boyfriend. Did Selena hate her that much? Demi didn't doubt an ounce of what she said. She wouldn't be surprised if she woke up with a stab wound tomorrow._

 _Taylor glared down at Demi, running her fingers through her blonde hair, "I'll deal with Joe, Selena."_

"Hey, Joe!" Taylor called, causing him to release the lock for his locker is shock, acting like he was having no problems with it. "How's the day going for you?"

"Good," he arched an eyebrow at her kindness, "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing, I just came to see if you were okay." Taylor brushed invisible dust off her skirt. "I mean, after all those rumors…"

"What rumors?" he queried, feeling his fists clench beside him.

"Oh, just that you made but Demi and Selena gay. Hm, have you not heard? Demi even said it herself."

His eyes bulged in a mix of horror and anger.

"Where is she?" he asked, his face morphing into an angry, red scowl. If there was one thing he hated more than those two girls, it was rumors that ruined his already faltering reputation. Once Taylor told him what class her rival girl was in, he took off, face red and fists up.

Taylor smiled gleefully, turning and skipping down the hallways. This was going to be _fun_.

* * *

 _Brrrrng_! The bell rung through Selena's ears, and she stood up quickly, feeling her feet move her to the front of Mr Gall's classroom. She was giddy, knowing that next period was Gym and she'd get to see her girlfriend, running laps in _really_ cute shorts. Selena could feel her heart compress at the thought, and she was all set to sprint to gym, until Mr. Gall stopped her.

"Selena," he said thickly as the other students dispersed. "Have you checked your grades recently?"

She thought hard for a second, wondering when she'd last had the time for school since she'd been working so hard to get Demi back. Reluctantly, she shook her head. He sighed and passed her a paper with her recent test scores and her overall grade.

 **F - 56%**

Selena looked up at him in surprise, setting the paper on the table in embarrassment, "I… I'm sorry."

He raised his eyes eyebrows lightly, "I know… other things... seem important right now, but trust me, you _do_ need to focus on school sometimes."

"I-I know! I do, really." she tried to explain. "Is there something I can do?"

Selena shuffled her feet nervously, shutting her eyes harshly. She had always tried to keep up her good grades, always tried to please her parents. Her dad was away for the military, stationed somewhere over the border. She had always tried to make sure that he knew she was doing well, however she was mostly worried about her mother. Selena was aware that her mother still got a copy of her report card, and the last thing she wanted was for the first phone-call she'd received from her mom in years to be about her low grades.

He rifled through his papers, pulling out a stapled packet of assignments, "This is all the extra-credit I have. If you do it all correctly by next week, before semester grades go in, you can get a C+."

Selena sighed and flipped through the packet, knowing that there had to be at least twenty front and back pages inside. "What about the test at the end of this week?"

"Well, if you manage to get an A on it, you'll get a B for the class. Think you can manage that?"

She wanted to say the obvious, _no, of course not! I don't understand half this unit!_

But instead, she settled for, "Yes. Thank you, Mr. Gall."

She quickly placed the packet inside her backpack, as the kids for his next class began to pour in. She nodded quickly and ran out, knowing that the late bell was about to ring and her gym class was halfway across the school.

However, as she was changing into her gym clothes, she noticed that Demi wasn't in the locker room with her. Weird.

* * *

 **there we go! aaa**

 **what do u think happened w/ demi? i think you'll be surprised :^)**

 **[ and don't worry, you'll get to meet selena's parents soon! ]**

 **if i made any mistakes pls let me know!**

 **see ya!**


	12. Twelve

**hello! welcome back bois!**

 **this chapter is... like a struggle of conflict so it's gonna be pretty dramatic!**

 _italics = thoughts/flashbacks/emphasis_

 ** _bold & italics = emphasis in thoughts/flashbacks_**

* * *

"Selena," Jen rattled the girl's gym shirt in hopes of getting her attention. "I gotta talk to you."

"What?" The girl whipped around angrily, still holding a grudge since the time in the mall. If Jen thought that she could get away with something like that again, it would be Selena's punch that busted her nose this time. However, the girl's eyes were filled with worry, and she was kneading the skin on her fingers like play-dough. Selena couldn't help but soften, knowing from a time when they were friends that it meant she was genuinely worried about something.

"Listen, I know I don't like you anymore… or I'm not supposed to," the girl's eyes dilated as she remembered what she came for. "But it's still right to tell you. Joe was talking to Demi earlier, and I was eavesdropping from my locker… he got super pissed off with her and chased her down the hall."

Selena's eyes widened, and she could feel her heart pounding with worry, and also anger. Her emotions mixed, and she grabbed the girl's shirt collar abruptly. Sure, if her brain wasn't on overdrive, she would've placed a hand on Jen's shoulder and said thank you before asking her where they were.

"And you're _just_ telling me? You didn't try to stop him?" Selena snarled, though she should've been happy that Jen even told her, considering their past.

"I'm sorry!" She protested, holding her wrists in front of her eyes. "I-I'm a really slow runner, and it took a long time to find you. I wanted to help, I really did… I just wanted to tell you! I'm sorry!"

Selena noticed the face the girl was making, the guarding wrists and tremble in her voice. With her eyes downcast and heart racing, audible in the now empty hallways just outside of her gym class.

 _Demi coughed wildly, her chest heaving and compressing, eyes wide._

" _Look at me!" Selena shouted, pulling the loop of the Demi's jeans so that the girl stumbled forward. It was meant to get her attention and to get her to stand, but instead the girl ended up jumbled and landing her sprawled hands on Selena's shoulders for balance._

 _Selena stiffened for a second, feeling the warmth through her battered, light jean jacket and skin-tight navy t-shirt. However, she didn't falter when she shook her shoulders free of the grasp and pushed Demi off and closer to the wall of the band room._

 _It was abandoned, at an early winter six-o'clock, where the sun was setting quickly. The blinds were shut and the school was mainly empty, only holding some quiet janitors who knew better than to get involved in students' businesses. Demi arched her back as she hit the wall, sliding down it like a squashed bug as soon as she was in contact. Selena's arm twitched for a second, obviously debating on what to do next._

 _Demi didn't move, only laying against the tile walls with her head limply swung down to her chest. Not even a grunt came when Selena kicked at the girl's toes, instead just loosening her position and allowing her to crumble to the floor._

" _Oh my god." she exclaimed, getting on her knees to inspect the damage. "Oh my god."_

 _Demi wasn't hurt as badly as she had been before; in fact she could probably stand if she could. However, she thought that if she just faked being hurt, Selena would go away. She would run out in fear that she'd get caught and… maybe Demi could still make it home and kiss up to her parents. Maybe everything could go right for just_ one _day._

 _When she felt brown hair tickling the sides of her face and heard no footsteps leading away, her eyes snapped open, taking full view of the girl's worried brown eyes. Selena was leaning over her, hands on either side of her chest and legs thrown off to the side. Her eyebrow arched in confusion, and once Selena noticed, her worry turned to anger._

" _You bitch!" she roared, pushing up with her hands and towering above the girl. She quickly shoved her foot into the girl's stomach, causing Demi to rocket up and cough wildly._

" _You're not a god damn raccoon! You can't just play dead whenever you want!" Selena screamed out, using her foot to roll Demi over and land a kick to her lower back. "Ugh!"_

 _Demi hacked in pain, scrambling away from the girl's violent boots and backing herself against the wall. Eyes wide, she raised two fists to protect her face and scrunched up her knees to protect her stomach. It was a basic defense move, and Selena hesitated for a second, noticing the pure horror in the girl's eyes._

"Sorry," Selena apologized weakly, putting her eyes inside of her palms and squishing the bridge of her nose. "I'm so sorry. I'm just really worried… and when that happens, a side comes out."

Selena shivered at the thought, but Jen nodded weakly and put on her best smile to reassure the girl. Despite being a bully _with_ Selena once, Jen was still terrified of her―and she had a right to be. Selena had always bossed her around even when they were friends, so she placed a hand on Jen's shoulder. Jen flinched.

"Thank you for telling me. Which way did he go?"

* * *

Heart thumping, Demi raced up the stairs, towards the very top of the school. Demi had never truly been up there, but it was her only option with the crazed boy chasing behind her.

Cursing many levels of profanity, her feet finally met the last step of the staircase and she darted side to side upon the corridor. Maybe he'd lose her if she changed pathways so often, if she flipped and turned. Unfortunately, if her brain was working correctly, she would've realized that all of the hallways on one floor led to the same thing; another staircase.

"Ugh," the girl muttered under her breath, but begrudgingly sprinted up the staircase in front of her. Stairs were starting to look like demonic spiraling hell-machines.

 _Pound. Pound. Pound_. Demi admitted, when she had thought about losing the man in pursuit of her by twisting and turning, her body had allowed her to slow down just a bit. It was a mistake now, because Demi could hear him thumping his way through the hallways and closer to his target.

With a strangled cry begging for rest, Demi went up the stairs two-steps at a time, skipping every other one in pure desperation to escape him. Demi didn't wanna die yet, she wanted to live! Demi knew first hand just how dangerous Joe was, from the first date they went on to how he treated Selena in _public_ , even.

"You'd better stop running," the man called angrily from the bottom of the staircase, able to hear her desperately running. He was still hot in pursuit, almost trapping her.

Demi's heart was basically shoving blood into her veins now, filling her with throbbing blood vessels that urged her to stop and all the same keep going. This was the most exercise she'd received in a while, so while she tried to convince herself it was good for her, her brain told her to shut up and lie down. Her knees were weak and her elbows were slacked out, swaying like dead worms the more she ran up the stairs. Now, her heart wasn't just pounding, she was sure she was getting a headache as well.

Desperately, Demi tried to shut off the world. She only heard the pitter-patter of rain outside which had become louder since the beginning of the day. Now, she was sure that there was hail rocketing against the panes near the stairs, and they more she went up she could only wonder how much longer until _he_ would give up too.

She couldn't help but look down through the stairwell, hoping that he was hunched against the railing like she longed to do. Instead, he was furiously trampling up the stairs, fists clenched and eyes red. There seemed to be some more footsteps on the other side of the stairs, but Demi could only think it was another guy Joe had hired.

* * *

Jen had pointed out where they went, and from there Selena had asked a few of the other students about whether or not they saw anything. A few actively chose to not get involved, but eventually she got enough information. Selena was pretty confident that she knew where the path was headed. The stairs a curly-haired junior had told her about were the same _super long_ stairs that her gym teacher used to make her run up and down her freshman year.

She had been caught doodling profanity on Demi's gym locker, which caused _Ms. Yarrowback_ to go nuts. She grabbed Selena by the ear and pulled her all the way to the same staircase, instructing her to run all the way to the top of the staircase and then all the way back in under six minutes or else she would be expelled.

Of course, before Selena could say anything about _No Cruel or Unusual Punishment_ in the amendments―she actually paid attention in social studies―her teacher pulled a whistle from her pocket and blew it roughly, indicating that Selena would have to start sprinting.

She remembered making it to the last floor, the seventh one, before she heard a loud whistle, and cursed herself. She still had to go down, too, and she had not even started.

" _Oh, hell," Selena cried out, hearing the loud whistle from below her. Still in her shaggy gym shorts and deep purple tank-top, she leaned against the wall and slammed her head against it. She'd used up everything she had running to the top, and even her legs were choosing to wobble. Time was up. She was going to be expelled._

" _Get down here!" a voice echoed up to the top of the stairs, and the bully let out a cry of protest before slowly making her way down, making sure to raise her knees so that she didn't fall on each and every step._

 _Once her feet met the first floor tile, she slumped to her knees and bowed down in a prayer-like stance to her teacher, "I'm so sorry Ms. Yarrowback, I tried so hard. Please don't expel me."_

 _With the teacher's high-waist shorts and a long wife-beater shirt, she walked closer to Selena with seemingly no ill-intent. The teacher paused once they were merely an inch apart, but Selena could only pay attention to the teacher's raising footsteps._

 _She extended a hand towards the slumped girl, which Selena reluctantly took._

" _I used to get bullied in high school," the teacher leaned closer to the girl, "So I'm hurt that you were doing that to someone in this very school. I wasn't going to expel you no matter how you placed,"_

 _Selena almost objected, but Ms. Yarrowback continued, "I just wanted you to feel exactly how that girl does when you bully her."_

" _What?"_

" _She's running, running away from you, but no matter what—she can't do it in time. She feels like she will die if she runs longer, but what choice does she have? Whatever drama you have with her isn't worth doing that to her every day, is it?"_

 _Selena drooped her head and nodded solemnly. Ms. Yarrowback was right, the feud with Demi had one on for way too long. Selena sometimes forgot why she was even doing it._

" _I like you," she explained, whistle clanking against her chest when she moved. "You're a good kid. So don't fall down that path."_

 _Despite her own efforts, Selena knew the teacher was right. She decided that she'd apologize to Demi for what she'd done; she didn't want anyone to go through that extreme workout that she'd just done._

" _I'll go apologize right now, Ms. Yarrowback!" Selena smiled gleefully, and her gym teacher grinned back and nodded to indicate that she could go._

 _With that, the sweaty girl grinned and marched out from the hallway that led to the stairs, shakily making her way to Demi's locker. Surely the feud was going on for too long―it was started because of_ cooties _, which was ridiculous to still be fighting about now._

 _She turned the corner, not caring that she was still clad in her gym clothes with sweat running down her forehead and chest. Time to bury the hatchet, give it a rest! Surprisingly, she felt like she could actually fly; and maybe her brain had been secretly craving Demi's friendship all along, ever since elementary. Things were going simply great..._

 _Until she saw Demi hugging_ _ **her**_ _boyfriend, snuggled into his chest like she lived there, god dammit. Her arms were tightly constricted around his waist, and he was patting her head sweetly. Selena's boyfriend… interacting like that with Demi? What. The. Hell._

 _She had a battle with herself. Kill Demi or kill her own boyfriend? Screw it. The apology she had planned went down the drain, she soon realized why she had been doing what she was doing all this time. The girl stomped forward, taking long strides that echoed throughout the hallways._

 _First, she grabbed her boyfriend's arm and yanked him away from Demi, causing the hall to gasp in fear. Gnashing her teeth together, Selena raised her hand and gave the boy a hard slap to his cheek, angry tears welling in her eyes._

" _Selly, honey—" he began, his eyes pleading._

" _I_ _ **told you**_ _not to call me that!" Selena's open fingers curled into a ball and she gave her boyfriend a thick sock in the jaw. "I didn't know that you were so horrible as to flirt with my worst enemy!"_

" _We weren't! I was just comforting—"_

" _Comforting, my ass!" the girl didn't let him finish, "I saw the smirk on your face; you wanted to use her!"_

 _Demi recoiled in fear, backing up against the lockers at the intense lovers quarrel._

" _Even if I was," Joe, the boyfriend, retorted, "Why would you care? You hate her!"_

" _It's cheating, you stupid dog!" Selena's nostrils flared and she stomped her foot, the hallways becoming eerily quiet, "And_ _ **I'm**_ _the only one that gets to use her!_ "

 _The bystanders were quiet now, their eyes wide and glancing side to side. Selena roared, "Now get out of my face!"_

 _Joe quivered in fear, glancing once to Demi and then to Selena, with her fist raised again for another punch. His jaw was already bruising purple, and his lip was cracked and bleeding slightly. Joe could've hit her back; but even_ _ **he**_ _was afraid of what Selena would do to his reputation. He skittered his feet slightly and ran through the halls, pushing past awe-ing kids and recording phones._

 _Demi had begun to creep away silently, her back to Selena as she tried to quickly tip-toe away from the other girl's rage._

" _You absolute_ _ **bitch**_ _," Selena swore, gripping the back of Demi's shirt and ripping the collar, causing a crackle that resulted in the shirt ripping at the threads and down the back. It choked the girl's neck, causing her to sputter from Selena's force._

 _Ms. Yarrowback would have to suck it up, because if Demi really thought she could steal Joe from her like that, she had another thing coming. Demi cried out as Selena pulled her along by her already ripped shirt, throwing her in an abandoned locker for later._

" _I can't believe I was ever going to apologize to you…" the girl cursed under her breath, twisting her hair tie between the handle so that Demi couldn't open it from the inside._

 _Demi heard it, though… and she felt immensely sorry._

Selena shook her head from the thoughts, trying to rid herself of Joe's nasty behavior and _her own_ nasty behavior to her girlfriend.

* * *

Cursing incoherently, Demi preceded her run up the stairs and finally― _finally!―_ made it to a heat-extinguished door, labelled _S-783_ on the frame. She didn't have time to dwell, seeing it was her only option. She ran inside of the room, which she assumed was some sort of storage room, and instantly twisted the lock shut.

It wasn't long before the man began to scream at the door and slam his fists against it. Demi had slid against the back of the door, the thumps of her heart rocking her back and forth. Her head was slumped and a trail of sticky sweat was oozing from every single pore in her body.

Joe began pounding again, like he knew she was resting her ass off inside.

Nostalgia. Lots of nostalgia. She remembered Selena pounding at the locker room, holding her nose in animosity while shouting for Demi to let her in. Demi could imagine her voice now, timid and sweet as she politely asked if she could come in. In her mind, the exhausted girl practically flung the door open for her, until she heard the gruff voice of her ex again.

Without thinking, Demi placed her hands over her ears and ignored his shouts and bangs, only letting the vibrations of it tingle her back. A softer voice came, Demi thought she heard, but instead just kept her ears clamped. It had to be a trick of the ears, or something.

Her eyes snapped open as soon as she was sure she heard the now apparent sweet vibration of Selena's voice.

"Hey, Demi babe? Open the door."

Demi opened it without another word―she didn't have to think. She didn't care about Joe, Taylor, or whatever the hell was going on in her life. She didn't care about any of it at the moment, she was just glad to see a friendly face instead of a shaggy one, one that wanted to skin her alive. She thought it was ironic, because she used to think Selena would be the one to skin her alive, and now the girl was her savior.

Unfortunately, that shaggy face she was so scared of was right next to the face she had opened the door for, and it was smiling wickedly.

* * *

 **aaa, i know, i'm the worst for that cliffhanger but**

 **anyways** **, there was a lot of flashbacks in this one, so i hope there's some more depth here**

 **\- if i made any mistakes please tell me!**

 **see ya next tuesday!**


	13. Thirteen

**WE'RE BACK... you don't hate me, right? :^) well, anyways, here we go!**

* * *

Demi screamed when she noticed, barreling back and hitting the back of her calves against a low table.

"Dems!" Selena exasperated in surprise, rushing closer to her in fear she'd been hurt.

"No—please don't hurt me, Joe!" Demi hugged herself tightly, kicking away anything in her way. The room they'd ran up to seemed to be an old attic of some sorts. There were dolls for CPR training, globes, and old, sticky gym supplies. Old yoga mats with ripped tears, foaming pieces of cream-white fluff from the cuts—to red, bruised dodgeballs that had the distinctive logos covered in dust.

"Hun, he said he didn't mean to scare you like that." Selena explained carefully, and for a second Demi softened, her eyes growing wide in gratefulness. For a second, the rapid thrumming of her heart and quivering hands faded, and she sighed out loudly. It filled the room, and she let Selena's arms wrap around her comfortingly.

"Oh, yeah, 'bout that," he cut in, causing Demi's heart to speed again. "I _lied_."

 _When Selena had finally reached the other side of the hallway, she could see Joe kneeling against the door, one fist over the nameplate of the door and the other jiggling the knob. Her cheeks burned up in anger, reminding herself of what Jen saw._

" _You stupid, fucking—" she began to scream, raising her fist as she came near. For all that her relationship with Demi was worth, she was not afraid to hit him in the gut and send him flying across the hallway, holding his bruise. She'd done it once, and she'd do it again in a heartbeat._

" _Woah, woah, woah!" he exclaimed, holding his hands out in surrender. "I know someone must've told you, but I really didn't mean to scare her so bad. I was upset, but I dated her."_

 _Selena had half the mind to punch him just for that._

" _I've got a soft spot for her, so I stopped half-way when I was climbing the stairs and told her I was just joking. She kept running though, sobbing and all."_

 _Was he_ _ **trying**_ _to make her hit him? Because, god, she was close._

" _I followed her, Selena, and when she locked herself in here I kept saying I was joking. I only followed her cause I thought she was having a panic attack and I didn't wanna leave her alone."_

 _Selena took a breath in. It **was** like Joe to act before he thought everything through, and Selena was __**really**_ _trying to see that. She was really trying to be a better person, to avoid what Joe had always done. She didn't want to be the person that would punch someone into the wall for brushing against her shoulder anymore. She wanted to be better than that in every way. Demi had made her realize that life wasn't all about popularity and being treated like a god. In fact, Demi had changed her for the better, and now she wanted to prove that she really had changed._

" _Okay," she breathed out raggedly, and Joe seemed shocked that she recoiled her fist. "Okay."_

 _Next thing she knew, she was leaned against the crack of the door, whispering for Demi to let her in._

"This is the last time I'm a good person," Selena shouted angrily clenched his fists at her sides. She wanted to sock him in the jaw. She wanted to kick him in his shins. She wanted to socially ruin his life. She wanted to anonymously call his parents and act like she was calling from the police department. She wanted to beat him into—her thoughts were interrupted suddenly.

A blind, fumbling hand found its way into hers, intertwining their fingers and _squeezing_. Demi squeezed her hand so hard she felt like it was going to break and shatter like a tea cup. Instead, Selena beared the pain and squeezed back, pulling the girl behind her with whatever left of her sanity. She'd bear all of that pain for Demi. Even if he hit her over and over, she wouldn't let Demi get bullied and pushed around again. Maybe she deserved it after all. Of course, she'd fight, and then tomorrow ruin his reputation, so badly he'd get kicked out of school.

But maybe she should stop thinking about fighting and social warfare. Maybe she should reach deeper than empty threats and raised fists, or angry words. Maybe she hadn't really changed at all, so while she'd stopped bullying and pushing around other kids, maybe she still had that same way her brain worked. It was time to change that.

"Why?" Selena asked, and Demi looked up at her, shocked. "What's this about?"

He blinked, "You don't know?"

She shook her head slowly, and then fast.

"Taylor said Demi told everyone I turned her—and you—gay." he explained, rolling his heels over the carpet absentmindedly.

"That's stupid," Demi spoke up, "You can't _turn_ someone gay…"

Selena felt all her rage burn through her and return to Taylor. She shook her head, though. No more rage. _No_. Taylor liked Selena, too. Taylor liked Selena as a friend and a possible love interest, and Demi took basically both things away from her. _She's acting out of childish jealousy_ , her conscience cried out. _You gotta do something about it_!

But the better part of herself, the one holding Demi's hand and standing in front of her to protect her, told her conscience to shut up. Because she was better now; because she didn't need to be angry and get petty revenge to feel better. She didn't need to be angry at Taylor or push her into a locker, she just needed to understand.

"Demi didn't say that, I swear Joe," her eyes burned with intensity, one he had almost never seen before from the girl. They were the same intensity of color when she bullied her, sometimes, but this time softer and tilted.

He perked a smile, "You really love her, don't you?"

Selena's cheeks flushed, and she looked away.

"I'm sorry, gal," Selena snorted at the nickname he used to call her when they were 'friends.' He backed off, and Demi loosened her grip, letting Selena feel blood rush back to her tightly-squeezed hand.

As Selena was ready to smile and thank him for understanding their situation, a pounding came from the stairs, and a voice bellowed throughout the hallways.

"What are you kids doing up there?" the voice shouted, and it clearly belonged to one of the male teachers in the school. Selena didn't have time to pinpoint the voice, because Joe was shoving them towards the window.

"Quick, climb out the window, I'll deal with it," he explained, popping the seal on the glass pane open. It was big enough for them to both climb out on, but it was a four or five story drop, and there was nothing below them to catch them.

The pounding rain came to flood from the window, hitting them in the face and wetting the locks of their hair.

"N-no!" Selena jerked at the view of the high drop, but the pounding on the stairs urged Demi to swing a leg over the side of the window.

Selena grabbed at the girl's arm, almost in fear that Demi would fall off.

"Babe, it's okay," she cooed, "There's a ledge. Remember when you had to jump out of my window when we were at my house? Imagine it's that."

"It's not!" she protested, gulping at how high up the window was again. "I-I'll just take my detention…"

She flinched at her own words. She'd have detention in her lowest-grade class, which was Mr. Gall. Her face paled, wondering if he'd be disappointed and retract his extra credit. Even still, it was better than this.

"This place is off-limits," Joe explained quickly, hearing the footsteps. "You'll probably get expelled or suspended, your parents will be called—"

Selena shook her head at that and swung a foot over the ledge, breathing increasing rapidly. Nope, no parents are getting involved in this. Luckily, Demi's arm snaked around her waist and encouraged her up. There was no escaping from this now. The rain hit her face violently, scaring her.

Selena looked back at Joe thankfully and gave him a head-nod, to say some sort of deep thank you. He smiled crookedly, "You two are an unexpected couple, Selena… and I might've been a little jealous at first, but I'm happy for you."

With that, he shut the window before Selena could think about coming back in.

The ledge outside the window led all the way around the school, but it was thin and made of white concrete, stained gray with water marks. They could only walk on it one at a time, one girl in front of the other. Since Demi had came out first, she was in front. Selena couldn't even complain, because that meant she got to press her front into the girl's back in fear, shuffling along the ledge carefully and yet haphazardly.

"What're we gonna do, Dems?" she asked, close to Demi's ear so that the girl could hear her over the pouring rain.

"I dunno," she paused her shuffling against the ledge for a minute, looking down at the ground and then the dark, storm-clouded sky.

Selena bumped into her accidentally as she did so, but she made sure to stabilize Demi with her hands on the girl's hips so that she didn't fall. She let them linger there as Demi looked for a way out of the problem, until she spotted a window further along the narrow strip of concert below the windows.

She shuffled over, and Selena was bumping into her constantly, obviously really eager to get off this stupid ledge.. She could feel the girl's shoulders shake behind her, and she understood why. The girl was still wearing her gym shirt and shorts, even when it was pouring freezing rain outside. She had no plans to skip her classes to save Demi, and Demi thought it was pretty heroic of her. It made her heart swell, to be specific.

She stopped slowly, turned around so that she fully faced Selena. Her makeup was smeared from the rain and her teeth were chattering, so Demi quickly pulled her in for a hug, sharing the warmth of her sweater and natural body heat. Selena sighed out, digging a cold nose into Demi's neck.

It was cold, and Demi could feel all her warmth fading, but she didn't care. Once they'd stayed like that for a few minutes, Demi pulled away and placed her hands on Selena's shoulders tentatively, "Are you okay?"

Selena nodded heavily, already missing the radiating heart of Demi's sweater, and the feeling of the girl's hands up and down her soaked gym shirt. She urged Demi forward, and finally they reached the next window on the ledge.

Despite how much Demi pulled and twisted, she couldn't seem to break the lock on the window. Even if she could have pried it open, she doubted she'd have enough leg room on the narrow ledge. She looked to the bushes below them and then to Selena, whose face was completely, utterly pale, like she knew what was coming.

"Selly…"

"I know."

Demi gulped and looked down, despite all of those rules that say you shouldn't. It was basically four stories high. They'd break at least _something_.

"Only one of us has to jump," Selena breathed, and Demi's head snapped to the side to look at her. "Then the one that jumped can go inside and unlock the window."

"Don't." Demi warned her, but Selena moved to the edge, despite Demi's pulling hand. Demi shook her head wildly, which caused raindrops in her hair to pelt Selena's face. Selena pushed forward, which caused Demi to hold on tighter, before getting a look at her girlfriend.

Her face was pale and her hair was wet from rain, but she had never looked so determined. Demi tugged on her arm again, but Selena shook off the pull and moved a leg forward.

"Just like jumping off the window at your house," she noted, mostly to herself. It was clear she was trying to convince herself.

"No, babe, don't do it. Please, Selly, Sel…" the girl spat out all her pet names for her, trying to rush beside her. "I'm coming with if you jump, and that's final."

Selena gave her a weak smile, "I'm stronger than you. You're not coming with."

" _No._ "

Selena kneeled down.

" _No_."

Selena dropped one of the knees over the ledge, swinging it and leaving it dangling as she struggled to get the other out from under her own weight.

Demi clenched her fists and reared up her elbow, smashing it into the locked window with every last drop of her force. A crash erupted through the pounding rain and clinks of falling glass shook Selena's jumping thoughts away.

Selena whirled around, noticing the busted glass and the shredded elbow of her girlfriend's spotted sweater, dotted with clumps of red blood.

"Demi!" Selena exclaimed, shooting up from the ledge in shock, holding the girl's elbow fearfully.

Demi used her shoe to kick out the rest of the glass, wincing at the movement of her bleeding elbow. The glass remains mostly fell away, and she ducked down past the sharp remaining pieces of glass that jutted out from the edges. She cut part of her jeans on a piece that was on the bottom, and Selena cried out when she saw that, too.

Demi wringed out her hair on the floors once she was inside, letting droplets of rain be squeezed from her locks. She squealed when pain rippled through her elbow, pulsating with pain. She didn't say anything to Selena, not wanting her to worry more.

Selena rushed through the glass after her girlfriend, who was lucky that they had busted through to an abandoned classroom, instead of an active one. It'd be pretty awkward if they had climbed into a classroom full of horrified students. Her thoughts were shaken when she saw the blood on Demi's arm again, dripping a trail onto the hardwood floor.

"Dems!" she exclaimed, cradling the wound between her hands. Demi winced, and Selena softened her grip. "We're going home."

Demi agreed tentatively, but before Selena could fuss over her wound any more, she pressed a kiss against Selena's rain-dripping lips. She leaned her forehead against her girlfriend's, feeling the washed concealer smear on her her own forehead as she did.

"You didn't really think I'd let you jump, right?"

* * *

 **aaa yes... demi n selena fighting to save each other**

 **also! i hope you enjoyed that part of selena wanting to change her actions for the better, because i feel like i haven't addressed it too much**

 **see ya!**


	14. fourteen end

**welcome to the ending! woo**

* * *

Selena hovered over her girlfriend, who was sitting on the couch of her apartment. Her hands were dutifully wrapping the glass cuts and incisions with gauze. She was trying her hardest to be gentle, but it seemed to hurt Demi either way. She flinched whenever Demi hissed out in pain. It reminded her of when she used to extract those painful winces and hisses from Demi as a hobby.

Demi seemed to notice, though, because she used her free arm to rub the girl's side comfortingly. That she was okay, that Selena was _helping_. Selena would be lying if she said it didn't help.

However, it was also _very_ saddening. Demi was the one with a purple bruise and red gashes covering her elbow, not Selena. She should be the one to be soothing her, especially because she was half the cause for the wound. The more she looked at the bruise from the thick glass and the mixing red stains, she imagined them all over Demi's body; on her stomach, on her legs… she felt tears soak her bottom eyelashes at it, dripping down her cheeks. She _made_ wounds like this to her every day, and yet Demi made this one herself just so Selena would be safe.

"Hey, stop." Demi cooed, breaking her arm away from Selena's wrapping hands, placing both palms on the girl's cheeks.

"I can't believe you broke a window for me." she murmured in her tears, feeling Demi's hands quickly wipe away her falling tears.

"Is that something to cry about?" Demi asked, placing soft kisses to each of her cheeks.

"Yes!" Selena half-shouted, "I don't deserve that."

Demi gave her a light smile, before grasping at her shoulders and bringing them closer to her own. Selena wrapped her arms quickly around her waist, careful not to rattle the makeshift sling for Demi's elbow. Head sinking into the girl's neck, Selena sobbed. She felt _weak_ , crying into her hurt girlfriend's neck, but she couldn't care less.

It had been about six minutes of hiccuping before Selena parted her head from Demi's neck and simply pressed their lips together, as a recurring sign of gratitude and apologies. Selena shivered from the feeling of Demi's cold hair—still wet from the rain—brushing against her neck, but kept strong in their kiss.

A wandering hand found its way into Selena's hair, and another landed on Demi's back, rolling up the tank-top she wore and onto bare skin.

Selena's lips parted from Demi's, and she quickly leaned her head against her forehead, her hands stalling.

"I'm sorry," the girl sighed, running a finger through Demi's hair.

"Enough of that." Demi knocked her forehead against Selena's playfully, intertwining their fingers. "You don't need to apologize any more."

Selena smiled and brought their lips back together.

* * *

"This is gonna be _so_ fun," Demi sarcastically noted, leaning on Selena's locker.

Selena quickly held up Demi by her shoulders, giving her a hard but soft look, "Hey, don't be reopening that elbow wound."

She stuck out her tongue playfully, pulling down one of her eyelids.

Selena was about to shoot a rebuttal to her about keeping good care of the wound, except a flash of blonde hair inserted itself between Demi and Selena.

"Taylor?" Selena asked with furrowed eyebrows. The face belonging to the blonde hair was sad and regretful, eyes wide and watery.

"Hey, I'm sorry," she confessed, propping an elbow against the locker. "I totally snapped off the handle."

Selena opened her jaws to try to say something, but Demi pushed through the two and grappled to Selena's arm, "You know, Taylor, It's not cool to send someone chasing someone else up a bunch of stairs."

Taylor glared at her, and Demi glared back. Their gazes mixed and for a second, the hallways were quiet, everything else blocked out by the intensity. Taylor's lip curled upwards in the beginning of a snarl, before she turned and stomped away from the couple.

"Harsh." Selena commented after Taylor had left, eyebrows raised.

"Sorry," the brunette smiled, eyes smiling, "I'm just sick of people who cross lines."

* * *

 **the end ! sorry it was short, but i hope it was still interesting enough**

 **goodbye!**


End file.
